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THE  BIBLE  FOR  HOME  AND  SCHOOL 

SHAILER   MATHEWS,  General  Editor 

PROFESSOR   OF   HISTORICAL   AND   COMPARATIVE  THEOLOGY 
THE  UNIVERSITY   OF  CHICAGO 


HEBREWS 

EDGAR   J.   GOODSPEED 


f<»     9 


THE  BIBLE    FOR 

HOME    AND    SCHOOL 

SHAILER    MATHEWS,  General  Editor 

VOLUMES  IN  PREPARATION 
GENESIS 

By  Professor  H 

G.  Mitchell 

I   SAMUEL 

By  Professor  L. 

W.  Batten 

PSALMS 

By  Reverend  J. 

P.  Peters 

ISAIAH 

By  Professor  John  E.  McFadyen 

AMOS,   HOSEA,   and    MICAH 

By  Professor  J. 

M.  P.  Smith 

JOHN 

By  Professor  Shailer  Mathews 

ACTS 

By  Reverend  George  H.  Gilbert 

ROMANS 

By  Professor  E. 

I.   BOSWORTH 

GALATIANS 

By  Professor  B. 

W.  Bacon 

EPHESIANS   AND   COLOSSIANS 

By  Reverend  Gross  Alexander 

HEBREWS 

'i       \- 

By  Professor  E. 

J.  Goodspeed 

THE  BIBLE  FOR  HOME  AND  SCHOOL 


THE 
EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS 


BY 


EDGAR    J.    GOODSPEED 

ASSISTANT   PROFESSOR   OF   BIBLICAL   AND    PATRISTIC 
GREEK   IN   THE   UNIVERSITY   OF    CHICAGO 


THE   MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

1908 

Ail  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1908, 
By  the  MACMILLAN   COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.      Published  October,  1908. 


J.  S.  Cushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


TO    MY    BROTHER 
CHARLES    TEN    BROEKE   GOODSPEED 


GENERAL    INTRODUCTION 

The  Bible  for  Home  and  School  is  intended  to  place 
the  results  of  the  best  modern  biblical  scholarship  at  the 
disposal  of  the  general  reader.  It  does  not  seek  to  dupli- 
cate other  commentaries  to  which  the  student  must  turn. 
Its  chief  characteristics  are  (a)  its  rigid  exclusion  of  all 
processes,  both  critical  and  exegetical,  from  its  notes ; 
{l?)  its  presupposition  and  its  use  of  the  assured  results 
of  historical  investigation  and  criticism  wherever  such 
results  throw  light  on  the  biblical  text;  (c)  its  running 
analysis  both  in  text  and  comment ;  {d)  its  brief  explana- 
tory notes  adapted  to  the  rapid  reader;  {e)  its  thorough 
but  brief  Introductions  ;  (/)  its  use  of  the  Revised  Version 
of  1 88 1,  supplemented  with  all  important  renderings  in 
other  versions. 

Biblical  science  has  progressed  rapidly  during  the  past 
few  years,  but  the  reader  still  lacks  a  brief,  comprehensive 
commentary  that  shall  extend  to  him  in  usable  form  mate- 
rial now  at  the  disposition  of  the  student.  It  is  hoped 
that  in  this  series  the  needs  of  intelligent  Sunday  School 
teachers  have  been  met,  as  well  as  those  of  clergymen 
and  lay  readers,  and  that  in  scope,  purpose,  and  loyalty 
to  the  Scriptures  as  a  foundation  of  Christian  thought  and 
life,  its  volumes  wall  stimulate  the  intelligent  use  of  the 
Bible  in  the  home  and  the  school. 

SHAILER  MATHEWS. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Introduction i 

I.    Text i 

II.     Canonicity 2 

III.  Authorship 5 

IV.  Persons  Addressed 13 

V.    Occasion  and  Purpose 17 

VI.     Date  and  Place  of  Composition  .        .        -19 

VII.     Style  and  Language 25 

VIII.     Analysis  of  the  Epistle        ....  27 

IX.    Bibliography 29 

Text  and  Commentary 31 

Note  :   Melchizedek  in  Philo 124 

Index 125 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE   HEBREWS 

By   EDGAR   J.   GOODSPEED 


XI 


INTRODUCTION 

I.   Text 

The  text  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  is  preserved  in 
practical  completeness  in  three  ancient  uncial  manuscripts : 
Sinaiticus  of  the  fourth  century,  Alexandrinus  of  the  fifth, 
and  Claromontanus  of  the  sixth.  Three  other  early  uncials 
contain  considerable  parts  of  it:  Vaticanus  of  the  fourth 
century,  Ephraemi  Rescriptus  of  the  fifth,  and  the  newly 
discovered  Oxyrhynchus  papyrus  (657),  which  belongs 
to  the  early  part  of  the  fourth  century,  and  takes  rank  with 
Vaticanus  in  the  antiquity  and  excellence  of  its  text.  Vati- 
canus preserves  the  text  of  Hebrews  i  :  1-9  :  14;  the  Oxy- 
rhynchus papyrus  contains  Heb.  2  :  14-5  :  5 ;  10  :  8-1 1  :  13 ; 
II  :  28-12  :  17.  The  latter  thus  importantly  supplements 
the  ancient  and  excellent  text  of  Vaticanus.  To  these 
must  now  be  added  the  valuable,  though  fragmentary 
manuscript  of  the  Pauline  epistles  and  Hebrews  brought 
to  America  in  1907  by  Charles  L.  Freer,  Esq.  This  is  an 
uncial,  belonging  to  the  fifth  or  sixth  century,  and  has 
Hebrews  following  second  Thessalonians,  after  the  manner 
of  Vaticanus  and  Sinaiticus. 

The  textual  transmission  of  Hebrews  is  further  instruc- 
tive in  that  it  was  anciently  copied  as  belonging  with  the 
epistles  of  Paul,  standing  after  the  nine  longer  epistles  of 
Marcion's  canon  and  before  the  Pastorals  and  Philemon ; 
or  in  other  words,  between  Second  Thessalonians  and  First 
Timothy.  The  significance  of  this  position  given  the  epistle 
by  its  fourth-century  copyist  will  demand  consideration  in 
another  connection. 

Ancient  and  excellent  as  the  manuscripts  attesting  the 


INTRODUCTION 


text  of  the  epistle  are,  there  remain  in  the  text  a  few  read- 
ings of  great  difficulty,  which  some  commentators  are  dis- 
posed to  interpret  as  primitive  errors  in  transcription,  and 
upon  which  we  can  only  await  further  light. 

II.   Canonicity 

The  acceptance  of  Hebrews  as  canonical  scripture  was 
nearly  everywhere  contingent  upon  the  admission  of  its 
Pauline  authorship.  Churches  which  held  it  to  be  the 
work  of  Paul  naturally  included  it  with  his  letters  among 
their  sacred  books.  Yet  without  canvassing  the  problem 
of  its  authorship  in  detail,  its  gradual  rise  to  a  place  in  the 
canon  of  scripture  may  be  outlined. 

The  first  man  to  undertake  to  shape  a  New  Testament 
over  against  the  Old,  was  the  schismatic  Marcion  of  Pon- 
tus,  A.D.  144.  His  New  Testament,  meagre  as  it  was, 
was  yet  structurally  complete,  containing  a  gospel,  that  of 
Luke,  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other,  a  group  of  apos- 
tolic epistles,  the  first  ten  of  the  apostle  Paul.  When  the 
church  came,  more  than  a  generation  later,  to  construct  the 
New  Testament,  it  did  not  abandon  these  fundamental 
lines,  but  rather  developed  them  into  fulness. 

Of  this  second  stage  in  the  development  of  the  canon, 
the  ancient  Roman  Hst,  called  after  its  discoverer  the  Mura- 
torian,  is,  with  all  its  obscurities,  perhaps  the  clearest  wit- 
ness, representing  the  Roman  canon  of  the  last  quarter 
of  the  second  century.  It  enumerates  thirteen  letters  of 
Paul,  but  has  no  mention  of  Hebrew^s,  unless  it  be  meant 
by  the  "forged  epistle  to  the  Alexandrians,"  which  is  named 
only  to  be  repudiated.  In  the  Old  Latin  version  of  the 
New  Testament,  supposed  to  have  originated  about  this 
time,  Hebrews  seems  to  have  been  wanting. 

Irenaeus'  failure  to  use  or  mention  Hebrews  in  his  work 
against  heresies  has  often  been  noted.  Eusebius  indeed 
says  {H.E.  5  :  26)  that  he  used  it  in  a  work  now  lost,  but 
does   not  state   whether   he   deemed  it  canonical;    while 


INTRODUCTION 


Photius  quotes  Stephen  Gobar,  of  the  sixth  century,  as 
saying  that  neither  Irenaeus  nor  Hippolytus  accepted  it 
as  Paul's.  Although  Bishop  of  Lyons,  Irenaeus  was  in 
close  touch  with  Rome,  and  his  testimony  is  seen  to  accord 
in  time,  place,  and  substance  with  the  Muratorian.  At 
the  end  of  the  second  century  Hebrews  was  not  accepted 
at  Rome  as  canonical  or  as  a  work  of  Paul.  Of  its  rating 
in  Africa  the  silence  of  the  Old  Latin  has  given  us  an  im- 
portant hint,  to  which  the  explicit  testimony  of  Tertullian 
must  be  added.  Tertullian  quotes  Hebrews  and  assigns 
it  confidently  to  Barnabas,  expressly  distinguishing  it 
from  works  of  apostolic  authority,  when  it  would  have 
been  very  much  to  his  purpose  to  include  it  among  such. 
Africa  as  well  as  Rome  thus  omits  Hebrews  from  its  canon 
in  the  year  200. 

This  attitude  of  the  Roman  and  African  churches  seems 
to  have  undergone  little  alteration  in  the  third  century. 
Gaius  of  Rome  and  Cyprian  of  Carthage  do  not  appear  to 
have  included  Hebrews  among  Paul's  epistles.  Indeed, 
no  Latin  writer  is  known  to  have  accepted  Hebrews  as 
Paul's,  before  Hilary  (died  368  a.d.). 

This  failure  on  the  part  of  the  w^estern  church  to  accept 
Hebrews  as  Paul's  or  as  belonging  to  the  canon,  is  impor- 
tant for  two  reasons:  first,  because  the  New  Testament 
canon  pretty  certainly  originated  in  the  west,  that  is,  at 
Rome;  second,  because  Hebrews  was  probably  written 
to  Roman  Christians,  and  was  certainly  known  in  Rome 
by  95  A.D.,  since  Clement  of  Rome  is  strongly  influenced 
by  it.  The  Roman  church  thus  knew  the  epistle  from  the 
earliest  times,  but  steadily  refused  to  accept  it  as  Paul's, 
or  to  admit  it  into  the  apostolic  canon.  It  would  seem 
that  the  Roman  church,  if  any,  must  have  known  who 
wrote  the  epistle,  and  the  meaning  of  its  attitude  will  de- 
mand explanation  under  a  later  topic. 

To  the  position  of  the  Roman  church,  that  of  the  Alex- 
andrian presents  the  strongest  contrast.  Clement  of  Alex- 
andria held  Hebrews  to  be  the  work  of  Paul  (H.E.  6  :  14), 


INTRODUCTION 


and  appealed  to  the  authority  of  the  "blessed  presbyter," 
probably  meaning  Pantaenus,  as  an  earlier  sponsor  for 
its  Pauline  authorship  and  apostolic  character.  To  this 
opinion  Origen  somewhat  dubiously  subscribed  (H.E. 
6  :  25) ;  at  all  events  he  constantly  quotes  Hebrews  as  Paul's, 
and  once  at  least  professes  himself  ready  to  prove  it  his, 
although  elsewhere  he  adopts  a  different  tone.  The  ver- 
dict of  Alexandria  naturally  carried  great  weight.  Diony- 
sius,  Theognostus,  and  Peter  Martyr  maintained  it  at 
Alexandria  in  the  third  century;  Methodius  of  T}Te  prob- 
ably accepted  it;  it  gradually  pervaded  the  east,  and  ulti- 
mately influenced  even  the  west  to  accept  Hebrews  as 
Pauline,  apostolic,  and  canonical. 

We  have  reached  the  time  of  Eusebius,  whose  situation 
in  Palestine  naturally  subjected  him  to  Alexandrian  in- 
fluence. He  accepts  fourteen  epistles  of  Paul,  only  paus- 
ing to  note  that  the  Roman  church  disputes  Hebrews  as 
not  having  been  written  by  Paul.  The  canon  reached  its 
present  limits  with  the  festal  letter  of  Athanasius  (a.d.  367), 
in  which  Hebrews  stands  triumphant,  fortified  now  by 
two  centuries  of  distinguished  Alexandrian  tradition.  Je- 
rome's feeble  protest,  "The  custom  of  the  Latins  does  not 
receive  it  among  the  canonical  scriptures  as  St.  Paul's," 
is  the  last  serious  expression  of  Roman  disapproval.  Isidore 
of  Seville  (died  636),  it  is  true,  mentions  the  doubt  felt  by 
many  Latin  Christians  as  to  its  authorship,  but  probably 
only  echoes  the  language  of  Eusebius  and  Jerome. 

The  century  of  Eusebius  and  Athanasius  was  that  of 
our  earliest  manuscripts,  and  the  presence  of  Hebrews 
among  the  letters  of  Paul  in  Vaticanus  and  Sinaiticus 
clearly  shows  the  position  the  epistle  had  gained.  If,  as 
Hort  somewhat  improbably  surmised,  they  were  written 
in  Rome  about  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century,  their 
inclusion  of  Hebrews  among  the  letters  of  Paul  is  an  evi- 
dence of  the  acquiescence  of  the  Roman  Christians  in  the 
established  Alexandrian  opinion. 


INTRODUCTION 


III.   The  Authorship  of  the  Epistle 

1.  EXTERNAL   EVIDENCE   AS   TO   AUTHORSHIP 

At  Alexandria  the  opinion  prevailed  from  early  times 
that  Paul  wrote  Hebrews.  Clement  of  Alexandria  held 
this  view,  and  professed  to  derive  it  from  his  teacher,  Pan- 
teenus.  Origen,  indeed,  expressed  some  doubt  about  it, 
but  later  Alexandrians  held  to  its  Pauline  authorship,  and 
eventually  influenced  the  whole  eastern  church  to  accept  it. 
At  Rome,  where  the  epistle  is  first  quoted  (Clement  of 
Rome),  and  to  which  it  w^as  probably  written,  there  is  very 
little  testimony  as  to  its  author.  The  Pauline  authorship 
claimed  for  the  epistle  by  the  Alexandrians  found  little 
favor  there.  Novatian,  a  father  of  the  third  century,  quotes 
Heb.  13  :  15  as  from  the  most  holy  Barnabas,  but  this  opin- 
ion is  otherwise  unattested  at  Rome.  Jerome,  indeed, 
knew  of  it,  but  preferred  the  Alexandrian  view  that  Paul 
was  its  author,  although  he  w^as  by  no  means  certain  of 
its  truth.  At  Carthage,  TertuUian  quotes  Hebrews  as  a 
w^ork  of  Barnabas  {De  Pudicitia,  20).  Cyprian  and 
other  early  North  African  witnesses  agree  in  not  referring 
Hebrews  to  Paul,  although  they  are  silent  about  Barnabas. 
Augustine,  on  the  other  hand,  includes  it  among  Paul's 
letters,  and  the  Council  of  Hippo,  at  which  he  was  present 
(a.d.  393),  acknowledged  it  as  Paul's.  By  this  time  the 
Alexandrian  opinion,  long  since  prevalent  in  the  east,  had 
begun  to  influence  the  w^est  as  well,  as  Augustine  declares. 

The  ancient  testimony  of  Christian  writers  as  to  the 
authorship  of  Hebrews  is  thus  inconsistent  and  the  testi- 
mony of  the  epistle  itself  takes  on  added  importance. 

2.  INTERNAL   EVIDENCE   AS   TO   AUTHORSHIP 

A.  Direct.  The  letter  does  not  name  its  author  in  an 
opening  salutation,  as  most  ancient  letters  do,  nor  does 
his  name  appear  in  the  course  of  the  letter,  as  Paul's  some- 

5 


INTRODUCTION 


times  does  (i  Thess.  2  :  i8;  2  Thess.  3  :  17,  etc.).  We  are 
thus  thrown  back  upon  the  indirect  evidence  afforded  by 
the  epistle,  for  the  means  to  criticise  the  ancient  testimonies, 
and  if  possible  reach  a  conclusion. 

B.  Indirect.  Upon  examination,  the  epistle  itself  yields 
a  considerable  mass  of  evidence,  bearing  upon  its  author. 
The  writer  speaks  as  a  Jew,  —  the  fathers,  the  prophets, 
angels  (1:1-4);  Moses,  the  elders  (11:2).  He  makes 
free  and  confident  use  of  the  Jewish  scriptures,  quoting 
from  them  about  one  hundred  times,  and  using  them  in 
the  Septuagint  form  of  text  and  canon.  He  refers  to  the 
Psalms  as  "David"  (4:7),  and  like  Paul,  shares  the  Jewish 
belief  that  the  old  covenant  was  communicated  to  men 
through  angels  (2  :  2.    Cf.  Gal.  3  :  19). 

He  does  not,  indeed,  argue  in  the  style  of  rabbinic 
Judaism,  but  rather  after  the  manner  of  academic,  philo- 
sophic Judaism;  at  some  points  resembling  Philo,  though 
never  going  to  such  lengths  as  he  in  the  allegorizing  of  the 
Old  Testament.  Thus  the  tabernacle  and  its  service 
are  a  copy  and  shadow  of  heavenly  realities  (8:5;  9:23); 
Melchizedek  possesses  an  ulterior  significance  (7  :  1-3), 
etc. 

His  knowledge  of  Judaism  does  not  always  seem  to  be 
accurate,  for  he  once  speaks  as  though  the  high-priest  had 
daily  to  offer  sacrifices  for  his  own  and  the  people's  sins 
(7  :  27 ;  but  cf.  9:7  and  25,  where  a  different  representation 
appears).  Further,  he  places  the  altar  of  incense  within 
the  Most  Holy  Place  (9:4)- 

He  is  plainly  a  Christian  Jew,  as  every  page  of  his  epistle 
shows.  His  Christianity  is  not  of  the  Judaistic  type,  how- 
ever, for  he  regards  Judaism  as  but  the  shadow  and  copy 
of  the  heavenly  realities  actualized  in  Christ  (9  :  23;  10  :  9). 
He  shares  Paul's  conception  of  the  futility  of  the  Law,  but 
finds  beauty  and  value  in  it,  as  prefiguring,  however  im- 
perfectly, the  new  and  better  covenant  (10  :  i).  He  re- 
sembles Philo  also  in  that  his  interest  is  never  in  a  concrete, 
actual,  contemporary  temple,  service,  and  priesthood,  but 

6 


INTRODUCTION 


only  in  the  ideal,  statutory  Judaism  of  the  tabernacle  and 
the  wilderness. 

He  is  a  master  of  Greek  style,  finished,  periodic,  and 
antithetical,  standing  conspicuous  among  New  Testament 
writers  in  this  regard.  In  the  wealth  and  weight  of  his 
theological  vocabulary,  he  seems  a  fully  trained  exponent 
of  the  Jewish  Alexandrian  school.  Like  his  readers,  he 
is  not  of  those  who  heard  the  Lord  teach  on  earth,  but  has 
received  the   message   of  salvation  through  such  persons 

(2:3)- 

He  shows  acquaintance  with  the  epistles  of  Paul,  or  at 
least  with  Paul's  teaching  (2  :  8,  9),  with  some  elements 
of  which  he  is  in  essential  sympathy.  He  is  no  mere  Paul- 
inist  how^ever,  but  a  Christian  thinker  of  originality  and 
distinction,  exhibiting  a  type  of  Christian  thought  compa- 
rable in  individuality  with  the  Pauline,  the  Synoptic,  and 
the  Johannine. 

He  speaks  with  authority  and  severity  to  his  readers 
(5  :  11),  with  whose  virtues  and  shortcomings  he  is  thor- 
oughly acquainted  (6  :  10).  He  knows  the  persecution 
through  which  they  have  passed  (10  :  32,  35-39),  as  well 
as  their  present  perilous  position.  He  hopes  to  be  speedily 
reunited  with  them;  that  is,  at  Rome  (13:  19).  He  knows 
Timothy,  and  reports  his  release  from  prison,  announcing 
his  purpose  to  join  him  and  them.  He  is  apparently  out- 
side of  Italy  when  he  writes  the  letter  (13:  24). 

3.     MODERN   OPINION 

Luther  proposed  Apollos  as  the  person  in  the  early  church 
most  likely  to  have  written  Hebrews,  and  some  scholars 
of  ability  (Bleek,  Tholuck,  Alford,  Kurtz,  Farrar)  have 
accepted  his  view.  Paul  has  been  the  chief  claimant  put 
forward  in  modern  as  in  ancient  times,  but  it  is  doubtful 
whether  any  scholar  of  weight  at  present  assigns  the  epistle 
to  him.  Ullmann,  Wieseler,  Renan,  Ritschl,  Weiss,  and 
McGiffert  incline  to  Barnabas.     Luke  has  been  urged  by 

7 


INTRODUCTION 


some  (Delitzsch),  and  Mark  by  others  (Lowndes),  despite 
the  contrast  presented  by  the  style  and  substance  of  their 
acknowledged  works.  Harnack  has  recently  proposed 
Prisca,  or  Prisca  and  Aquila,  presenting  a  strong  array 
of  considerations.  Many  scholars  pronounce  the  problem 
insoluble,  taking  refuge  in  the  dictum  of  Origen,  ''Who 
indeed  wrote  the  epistle  God  knows." 


4.    CONCLUSION 

If  we  now  seek  to  test  the  ancient  opinions  as  to  the  au- 
thorship of  Hebrews  by  the  internal  evidence  of  the  epistle, 
the  claim  of  Paul  has  first  to  be  considered.  For  this 
may  be  urged,  first,  the  testimony  of  Pantaenus,  Clement, 
and  later  Alexandrians,  ultimately  accepted  by  the  whole 
church,  eastern  and  western.  Against  it  stands  the  silence 
of  the  Roman  church  for  more  than  two  centuries,  broken 
only  by  Novatian's  mention  of  Barnabas.  Tested  by  the 
internal  evidence  of  the  epistle,  the  Pauline  authorship 
is  negatived  by  the  un-Pauline  anonymity  of  the  epistle, 
though  this  may  be  an  accident;  it  is  condemned  by  the 
dissimilarity  to  Paul's  vocabulary,  style,  theology,  and 
method  of  reasoning,  and  by  the  statement,  so  unlike  Paul, 
that  the  writer  received  the  truth  from  those  who  heard  the 
Lord  speak. 

Clement's  theory  that  Hebrews  is  a  translation,  by  Luke. 
or  Clement  of  Rome,  of  a  Hebrew  original  by  Paul,  is  con- 
demned by  the  unlikeness  of  the  thought  and  argumenta- 
tion to  Paul's,  and  of  the  style  to  Clement's  or  Luke's; 
still  further  by  the  impossibility  of  explaining  in  a  version 
the  extraordinary  rhetorical  finish  and  vigor  of  Hebrews, 
the  markedly,  even  vitally,  Septuagint  character  of  its 
quotations  from  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  nicety  of 
its  theological  terminology,  which  could  hardly  be  trans- 
lated into  Hebrew  or  Aramaic,  much  less  have  originated 
in  one  of  those  tongues  and  survived  translation  out  of  it. 
Altogether  it  would  be  difficult  to  name  a  New  Testament 

8 


INTRODUCTION 


book  less  likely  to  represent  translation  from  a  Hebrew 
original  than  Hebrews. 

The  statement  of  Tertullian  connecting  the  epistle  with 
Barnabas  has  little  ancient  support  indeed,  but  cannot  at 
once  be  decisively  set  aside.  We  have  no  genuine  writings 
of  Joseph  called  Barnabas  with  which  to  compare  it,  al- 
though a  so-called  Epistle  of  Barnabas  and  a  Gospel  of 
Barnabas  are  extant,  the  former  an  Alexandrian  monu- 
ment of  the  second  century,  the  latter  a  mediaeval  (13th 
century)  or  modern  (i6th  century)  work  of  Mohammedan 
color.  An  ancient  Gospel  of  Barnabas,  now  lost,  is  named 
in  the  "  Decree  of  Gelasius  "  and  in  the  Sixty  Canonical  Books 
(Codex  Baroccianus).  Mention  may  be  made,  further,  of 
the  Acts  of  Barnabas,  by  Mark,  a  work  of  the  fourth  or 
fifth  century.  A  small  but  fairly  complete  cycle  of  literature 
—  gospel,  acts,  epistle  —  thus  gathered  early  about  the 
name  of  Barnabas,  but  unfortunately  all  of  it  that  has  come 
down  to  us  is  clearly  spurious,  and  thus  supplies  no  valid 
criterion  by  which  to  test  his  claim  to  the  authorship  of 
Hebrews. 

We  can  therefore  bring  against  the  ascription  of  Hebrews 
to  Barnabas  no  such  definite  arguments  from  style,  the- 
ology, and  method,  as  are  abundantly  supplied  in  the  case 
of  Paul  by  a  comparison  of  Hebrews  with  his  acknowl- 
edged works,  but  the  narrative  of  Acts  and  the  letters  of 
Paul  contain  statements  as  to  Barnabas  which  afford  some 
basis  of  comparison  with  the  internal  evidence  of  the 
epistle. 

These  references  form  a  picture  of  an  eloquent  Jewish 
Christian  evangelist  of  Levitical  ancestry,  a  man  of  means 
and  probably  education,  the  first  friend  and  co-worker 
of  Paul.  The  Clementine  Homilies  and  Recognitions 
contain  frequent  references  to  Barnabas  as  in  Rome  and 
Alexandria,  and  more  than  one  consideration  points  to 
the  west  as  the  probable  field  of  his  missionary  labor  after  his 
separation  from  Paul,  with  whom  he  evidently  had  an 
understanding  as  to  the  direction  in  which  each  should 

9 


INTRODUCTION 


work.     There  are  thus  no  general  considerations  of  weight 

to  be  set  against  the  statement  of  Tertulhan  and  Novatian. 

If  we  seek  to  test  that  statement  further  by  the  internal 

evidence  of  the  epistle,  certain  objections  to  it  at  once  appear. 

A.  The  author  is  not  one  of  those  who  heard  the  Lord 
speak,  but  of  those  to  whom  the  word  had  been  confirmed 
by  those  who  had  (2  :  3).  But  Barnabas  is  said  by  Clement 
of  Alexandria  (Stromateis,  2  :  20)  to  have  been  one  of  the 
Seventy,  and  in  this  he  is  followed  by  Eusebius  {H.E. 
I  :  12  :  I,  probably  following  Clement,  Hypotyposes,  7;  cf. 
H.E.  2:1:4).  Clement's  inaccuracy  in  these  matters 
is  well  recognized,  however,  as  in  his  identification  of  James 
the  Lord's  brother  with  James  the  son  of  Alphaeus  (Clem- 
ent, Hy polyposes,  7,  quoted  in  H.E.  2:1:4),  and  his  state- 
ment is  by  no  means  decisive.  Still  it  must  be  reckoned 
with,  and  may  be  noted  as  one  of  the  specific  notices  making 
against  the  Barnabas  authorship. 

B.  The  writer  is  too  ignorant  of  the  temple  arrangements 
to  have  been  a  Levite  long  resident  at  Jerusalem,  for  he 
represents  the  high-priest  as  daily  offering  sacrifice  for  his 
own  sins  and  those  of  the  people  (7  :  27),  and  places  the 
incense-altar  in  the  Most  Holy  Place,  9  :  4,  contrary  to 
Exodus  30  :  I,  3,  6,  and  Josephus,  Antiquities,  3:6:8  (cf. 
Luke  I  :  11),  which  locate  it  definitely  in  the  Holy  Place, 
outside  the  veil. 

It  may  be  answered  that  the  writer  is  not  at  all  concerned 
with  the  temple  in  Jerusalem,  but  with  the  tabernacle  in 
the  wilderness.  His  sources  of  information  as  to  it  were 
the  books  of  the  Pentateuch,  notably  Exodus.  Residence 
in  Jerusalem  and  familiarity  with  the  temple-precincts 
have  at  best  but  a  secondary  bearing  upon  the  matter. 
Philo's  words,  "The  most  fragrant  of  all  incenses  are 
offered  up  twice  every  day  in  the  fi^re,  being  burnt  within' 
the  veil,  both  when  the  sun  rises  and  sets,  before  the  morn- 
ing and  after  the  evening  sacrifice,"  ^  might  be  understood 
to  locate  the  incense-altar  in  the  Most  Holy  Place,  and 

*  Philo,  On  A^iimals  fit  for  Sacrifice,  ch.  2. 
10 


INTRODUCTION 


the  command  to  put  of  the  incense  "  before  the  testimony 
in  the  tent  of  meeting,  where  I  will  meet  with  thee  "  (Ex. 
30  :  36),  may  have  contributed  to  this  confusion.  As  to  the 
high-priest's  service,  there  is  even  less  difficulty,  for  the 
writer  expresses  himself  definitely  and  accurately  about 
the  matter  in  9:7,  where  he  says  that  into  the  second  tab- 
ernacle the  high-priest  alone  goes,  once  in  the  year,  not 
without  blood,  which  he  offers  for  himself  and  for  the  errors 
of  the  people.  This  language  shows  that  the  writer  is 
under  no  misconception  as  to  the  frequency  of  the  high- 
priest's  service,  and  it  is  artificial  to  ignore  this  passage 
and  insist,  upon  the  basis  of  7:  27,  that  the  writer  did  not 
know  things  which  as  a  matter  of  fact  he  specifically  and 
unequivocally  asserts  in  9  :  7.  These  points  have  no  bear- 
ing upon  the  residence  of  the  writer  of  Hebrews  in  Jeru- 
salem or  upon  his  Levitical  descent. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  points  in  w^hich  Barnabas 
admirably  satisfies  the  conditions  of  the  problem.  He 
w^as  a  Jewish  Christian,  a  man  of  substance  and  so  probably 
of  education,  the  broadest  Christian  in  the  church  at  the 
time  of  Paul's  conversion,  and  a  man  of  such  zeal  and  elo- 
quence as  to  be  called  by  the  apostles  the  Son  of  Exhorta- 
tion. No  other  figure  in  early  Christian  history  more 
naturally  combines  liability  to  Alexandrian  influence  with 
wide-ranging  evangelism.  An  associate  of  Paul,  and  thus 
conversant  and  sympathetic  with  his  thought,  he  was  yet 
not  a  disciple  of  Paul,  but  a  Christian  teacher  of  inde- 
pendent views.  Paul's  influence  he  had  felt,  and  with 
some  at  least  of  his  letters  he  must  have  been  famiHar. 
Timothy  he  would  have  known  in  early  days  at  Derbe 
and  Lystra,  and  perhaps  also  in  later  times  at  Rome,  if, 
as  seems  probable,  Barnabas  found  his  way  thither  \\dth 
Mark.  The  writer's  interest  in  Levi  and  the  Le^dtical 
sits  well  on  Barnabas  the  Levite.  The  only  indi\ddual 
mention  of  the  patriarch  Levi  in  the  New  Testament  is 
found  in  Hebrews,^  and  the  word  Levitical  occurs  in  no 

'  Heb.  7:  5,  9;  cf.  Rev.  7:7. 
II 


INTRODUCTION 


other  New  Testament  book.  The  wTiter's  point  of  view 
indeed  is  distinctly  Levitic.^ 

The  existence  in  the  early  church  of  a  cycle  of  works 
bearing  the  name  of  Barnabas  (gospel,  acts,  epistle), 
strongly  suggests  that  he  did  write  something,  the  tradi- 
tion of  which  occasioned  the  ascription  of  other  writings  to 
him,  precisely  as  happened  in  the  case  of  Peter,  Clement, 
and  others.  More  particularly,  the  spurious  Epistle  of 
Barnabas  first  appears  under  that  name  at  Alexandria, 
the  very  place  where  Hebrews  is  first  ascribed  to  Paul, — 
facts  which  at  once  demand  to  be  related.  They  suggest 
that  when  Hebrev/s  was  given  to  Paul  by  the  Alexandrians, 
in  the  obvious  desire  to  make  it  apostohc,  the  tradition 
lingered  that  Barnabas  had  wTitten  an  epistle,  and  this 
tradition  came  at  length  to  be  connected  with  the  anony- 
mous work  since  known  as  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas.  On 
the  whole,  in  spite  of  the  dogmatic  negation  of  some  critics, 
there  is  more  to  be  said  for  Barnabas  than  for  any  one  else,^ 
and  the  only  serious  ancient  testimony  on  the  matter,  that 
of  Tertulhan  and  Novatian,  is  surely  not  to  be  swept  aside 
without  substantial  reason.  Such  a  reason  may  exist  in  the 
apparent  lateness  of  the  epistle,  but  no  other  valid  con- 
sideration of  weight  has  been  adduced. 

The  silence  of  the  epistle  as  to  its  author  has  been  thought 
by  some  significant,  even  intentional,  but  this  can  hardly 
be  true,  since  the  writer's  allusions  to  his  intended  visit 
to  them  and  to  his  prospective  meeting  with  Timothy, 
show  clearly  that  the  epistle  was  not  originally  anonymous. 
It  is  altogether  more  probable  that  the  salutation  was  early 
lost  from  the  beginning  of  the  epistle,  either  through  chance 
mutilation  common  in  ancient  documents,  or  through  the 
quite  intelligible  feeling  that  the  epistle  began  more  loftily 
and  wortliily  without  the  commonplace  names  and  greetings, 
which  might  seem  even  to  disfigure  the  majestic  introduc- 
tion. The  loss  of  the  salutatory  title  (e.g.  Barnabas  to 
the  Romans,  etc.)  might  be  the  easier,  if,  on  the  one  hand, 

»  McGiffert. 
12 


INTRODUCTION 


the  church  already  possessed  an  apostolic  letter  to  the 
Romans,  and,  on  the  other,  the  fame  of  Barnabas  suffered  as 
time  went  on  and  the  Acts  and  the  letters  of  Paul  gained 
in  influence.  These,  it  will  be  recalled,  leave  him  under 
what  have  seemed  to  many  serious  imputations  of  vacilla- 
tion (Gal.  2  :  13),  and  defection  from  Paul  (Acts  15  :  39). 
As  such  a  view  of  Barnabas  came  to  prevail,  his  connec- 
tion with  an  epistle  like  Hebrews  might  very  naturally 
be  suffered  to  fall  into  obli\ion. 

The  silence  of  Rome  as  to  the  writer  of  the  epistle  is 
satisfied  by  the  same  consideration,  quite  as  naturally  as 
by  the  view  of  Harnack  that  Prisca  was  the  author,  but 
was  quietly  lost  sight  of,  as  the  church  disliked  to  own  a 
woman  among  its  greatest  teachers. 

We  cannot  indeed  establish  the  authorship  of  Hebrews 
by  Barnabas,  nor  is  the  view  free  from  grave  difficulties, 
especially  since  the  epistle  falls  so  late  in  the  first  century, 
when  Barnabas  must  have  been  a  very  old  man.  Yet 
there  is,  as  McGiffert  puts  it,  more  to  be  said  for  Barnabas 
than  for  any  other  claimant  to  the  authorship. 

IV.  The  Persons  addressed  in  the  Epistle 

Since  the  time  of  Pantaenus  and  Irenasus,  i.e.  the  latter 
part  of  the  second  century,  the  designation  To  Hebrews 
seems  to  have  been  generally  attached  to  the  epistle.  In 
this  title  fathers  and  manuscripts  unanimously  agree. 
The  epistle  itself  says  nothing  directly  about  its  recipients, 
the  apparent  loss  of  its  title  having  deprived  us  of  the  ex- 
press statement  of  its  destination  which  presumably  accom- 
panied its  opening  salutation.  Yet  there  are  not  a  few 
indirect  touches  in  the  epistle  which  throw  light  upon  the 
circle  for  which  it  was  written. 

The  intended  readers  are  clearly  Christian  believers  of 
long  standing  and  genuine  worth.  They  are  firmly  at- 
tached to  the  Old  Testament,  which  they  probably  know 
in  the  Septuagint  version,  since  it  is  to  that  that  the  writer 

13 


INTRODUCTION 


constantly,  regularly,  and  unmistakably  appeals.  This 
evident  acceptance  of  the  Old  Testament  at  once  suggests 
Jewish  Christian  readers.  Yet  it  by  no  means  establishes 
the  fact  that  the  epistle  was  written  to  such  persons,  since 
Gentile  Christians  were  from  the  first  little  if  at  all  behind 
Jewish  believers  in  loyalty  to  scripture,  and  to  Gentile 
readers  the  peculiar  use  of  the  Old  Testament  made  by 
our  writer  would  have  been  admirably  suited.  So  zealously, 
indeed,  did  the  Gentile  believers  appropriate  the  Septuagint 
Old  Testament  that  the  Jews  conceived  a  distaste  for  their 
own  book,  and  in  the  second  century  practically  resigned 
it  to  their  antagonists  and  had  recourse  to  a  new  translation. 
Nor  is  evidence  wanting  that  in  the  first  century  Gentile 
believers  were  familiar  with  the  Old  Testament  and  ame- 
nable to  its  authority.  Clement  of  Rome  in  writing  to  the 
Corinthians,  soon  after  the  writing  of  Hebrews,  a  Gentile 
Christian  wTiting  to  Gentile  Christians,  makes  even  larger 
use  of  the  Greek  Old  Testament  than  does  the  writer  of 
the  epistle. 

The  readers  of  the  epistle,  like  the  writer,  are  not  of 
those  who  heard  the  Lord  speak,  but  have  received  the 
word  from  others  who  had  (2:3;  4:2).  This  implies 
remoteness  of  time  or  place,  or  both,  from  the  personal 
activity  of  Jesus  in  Palestine.  That  a  considerable  time 
has  elapsed  is  further  evident  from  the  allusions  to  the 
death  of  former  leaders  of  the  congregation,  and  to  the 
length  of  the  Christian  experience  which  lies  behind 
the  readers.     Their  church  has  been  long  estabhshed. 

The  readers  are  nevertheless  taxed  with  dulness  and 
immaturity  (5  :  11  ff.).  They  ought  to  be  teachers,  but 
are  themselves  in  need  of  instruction,  and  that  of  the  simpler 
sort.  Yet  they  are  not  without  commendable  traits,  for 
in  its  infancy  their  church  heroically  withstood  persecu- 
tion (10  :  32-35),  and  they  have  never  been  backward  in 
ministering  to  the  saints,  and  sharing  their  burdens  (6  :  9-12). 
A  new  persecution  is  now  threatening  (10  :  36,  39;  12  :  4), 
if  not  actually  afflicting  them,  against  which  the  writer  is  in 

14 


INTRODUCTION 


part  seeking  to  fortify  them.  The  danger  of  apostasy  and 
the  admonition  to  be  steadfast  color  the  whole  epistle. 

If  persecution  is  attacking  the  congregation  on  the  one 
hand,  apathy  and  indifference  are  threatening  it  on  the 
other.  Nor  is  it  easy  to  recognize  in  this  peril  a  tendency 
to  lapse  into  the  Judaism  of  temple  and  ceremonial,  or 
even  of  scribe  and  synagogue.  It  is  rather  the  disposition 
of  men  whose  hopes  have  long  been  deferred,  to  turn  from 
the  Hving  God,  and  sink  back  into  their  former  heathenism 
(3:12).  To  such  men  the  writer  would  show  the  grandeur 
and  worth  of  Christian  faith,  the  meaning  of  the  Hfe  and 
death  of  Christ,  the  significance  of  the  discipline  of  suffer- 
ing, and  the  necessity  of  laying  firm  hold  on  that  unseen 
world  which  alone  has  abiding  reaUty. 

The  personal  references  in  the  epistle  are  few  but  sig- 
nificant. The  writer  has  been  among  the  readers,  and 
purposes  to  return  to  them  at  the  earliest  opportunity  (13: 
19).  They  know  Timothy  (13  :  23),  and  seem  to  have  an 
interest  in  him,  as  only  Gentile  or  even  Pauline  congrega- 
'tions  are  likely  to  have  had.  They  of  Italy,  or  rather  from 
Italy,  send  greetings  to  them  (13  :  24),  which  seems  most 
naturally  to  mean  that  Italian  Christians,  for  some  reason 
out  of  Italy  at  the  time,  wish  to  be  remembered  to  a  con- 
gregation in  Italy. 

If  we  now  undertake  to  combine  these  touches  into  the 
likeness  of  some  Christian  community  of  the  first  century, 
we  must  acknowledge  that  the  Jerusalem  church  is  cer- 
tainly not  the  one  addressed.  The  commendations  and 
the  condemnations  of  the  epistle  alike  fail  to  accord  with 
what  we  know  of  the  Jerusalem  church  in  any  period  of 
its  brief  existence.  Nor  is  it  essentially  easier  to  connect 
the  epistle  with  some  other  Palestinian  congregation,  such 
as  that  at  Pella  or  Jamnia.  Indeed,  contemporary  cere- 
monial Judaism,  with  its  temple  and  priests,  is  utterly 
absent  from  the  mind  of  the  writer,  whose  Judaism  is  not 
personal  or  legalistic,  but  academic  and  philosophical. 
The  failure  to  take  account  of  this  is  probably  responsible 


INTRODUCTION 


for  that  ancient  opinion  as  to  the  epistle  which  gave 
it  its  present  title,  as  well  as  for  not  a  few  modern 
efforts  to  connect  it  with  Palestinian  or  other  Jewish 
congregations. 

For  the  Alexandrian  church  more  may  perhaps  be  said, 
since  the  community  that  had  produced  the  Septuagint 
might  with  propriety  be  addressed  in  the  most  finished  Greek, 
and  hear  the  Old  Testament  quoted  in  the  Alexandrian 
version.  Here,  too,  the  title  To  Hebrews  appears  most  at 
home,  if  we  are  to  judge  by  the  analogy  of  the  Gospel  accord- 
ing to  the  Hebrews,  and  here  the  title  very  probably  origi- 
nated. The  Alexandrianism  of  the  epistle,  too,  is  readily 
understood  in  an  epistle  addressed  by  one  Alexandrian 
Christian  to  others.  Yet  the  clear  references  to  persecu- 
tion, and  the  inexorable  allusions  to  Italy  and  Timothy, 
condemn  this  identification  like  the  others,  and  recall  us 
to  Italy  and  to  the  church  at  Rome. 

The  Italian  destination  of  the  epistle  has  of  late  been 
widely  accepted,  but  it  has  assumed  many  forms.  It  has 
been  held  that  the  epistle  is  addressed  to  all  the  Christian 
congregations  of  Italy,  as  a  sort  of  circular  letter  (Von 
Soden).  Again,  it  is  maintained  that  so  far  from  being 
addressed  to  all  the  churches  of  Italy,  it  is  not  written  even 
to  one  of  them,  but  to  a  part  of  it,  —  a  little  house-congre- 
gation within  the  Roman  church  (Harnack,  Zahn).  For 
neither  of  these  positions  does  there  seem  to  be  adequate 
evidence.  All  the  hints  of  the  epistle,  however,  seem  to 
converge  upon  the  Roman  church  as  that  to  which  it  was 
addressed.  The  references  to  persecution  long  past  (Nero) 
and  now  present  (Domitian),  to  hospitaHty  and  Uberality 
to  the  saints,  to  former  heroic  leaders,  to  evangelization 
by  those  who  had  heard  the  Lord,  to  Italy  and  Timothy, 
fall  in  with  the  Roman  destination  of  the  epistle  in  a  way 
that  leaves  Httle  to  be  desired.  The  earliest  trace  of  the 
epistle  in  Hterature  is  in  I  Clement.  That  letter,  written 
from  Rome  during  Domitian's  persecution,  and  thus 
probably  soon  after  Hebrews,  is  full  of  the  influence  of 

i6 


INTRODUCTION 


Hebrews,    and   thus   contributes   strongly   to   confirm   the 
Roman  destination  of  the  epistle. 

We  cannot  indeed  establish  the  Roman  destination  of 
Hebrews,  but  we  may  say  with  confidence  that  as  far  as 
our  knowledge  goes,  the  indirect  testimony  of  the  epistle 
as  to  its  intended  readers  fits  better  upon  the  Roman  church 
than  upon  any  other  ancient  church  of  which  we  have 
knowledge. 

V.   Occasion  and  Purpose 

The  writer's  repeated  injunctions  to  his  readers  to  hold 
fast  throws  Hght  upon  the  purpose  of  the  epistle  and 
indirectly  upon  the  occasion  which  prompted  it.  They 
are  to  hold  fast  their  boldness  (3:6),  and  the  glorying  of 
their  hope,  firm  unto  the  end;  their  first  confidence  (3  :  14), 
firm  unto  the  end;  their  confession  (4  :  14) ;  the  confession 
of  their  hope,  that  it  waver  not  (10  :  23).  They  are  warned 
against  falling  short  of  the  promised  ''  rest"  of  God  (4  :  i), 
and  urged  to  give  diligence  to  enter  into  that  rest  (4  :  11). 
They  are  to  run  with  endurance  the  race  set  before  them 
(12  :  i),  and  not  to  grow  weary  and  faint  in  their  souls 
(12  :  3).  They  must  not  refuse  him  who  speaks  (12  :  25), 
for  there  is  no  escape  for  those  who  reject  the  heavenly 
warning.  They  are  to  beware  of  falling  away  from  the 
living  God  (3  :  12). 

The  readers  of  the  epistle  are  evidently  in  danger  of 
giving  up  their  Christian  faith,  which  some  of  them  have 
held  for  a  long  time.  Indeed,  there  are  already  about 
them  lapsed  persons,  w^ho  have  thus  fallen  away  (6:  6), 
who  cannot  be  renewed  again  unto  repentance.  The 
writer  is  persuaded  better  things  of  his  readers.  For  the 
apostates,  however,  he  reserves  his  most  terrible  indict- 
ment. There  remains  for  them  only  a  certain  fearful 
expectation  of  judgment  (10  :  27),  for  they  have  trodden 
under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  done  despite  to  the  spirit 
of  grace  (10  :  29).  The  terrible  and  feehng  denunciation 
of  these  persons  in  chapters  6  and  10  makes  it  clear  that 
c  17 


INTRODUCTION 


this  is  no  imaginary  class,  but  a  real  and  present  element  of 
the  immediate  situation,  the  existence  and  possible  growth 
of  which  the  writer  counts  a  most  serious  peril  to  the  church. 
The  writer  would  hardly  present  to  them  with  such  vivid- 
ness, and  twice  in  the  epistle,  the  awful  consequences  of 
apostasy,  unless  there  were  danger  that  some  of  them  should 
fall  into  the  same  deadly  sin.  The  atmosphere  of  impending 
persecution,  already  detected,  is  here  evident,  and  with  it  an 
important  element  in  the  situation  that  evoked  the  epistle. 

The  peril  of  apostasy  under  the  stress  of  persecution  is 
not  all  that  threatens  the  congregation.  Some  of  its  mem- 
bers are  Christians  of  some  years'  standing,  old  enough  to 
be  teachers,  but  actually  immature  (5  :  12).  These  per- 
sons need  to  be  aroused  to  press  on  unto  perfection  (6:1). 
The  readers  have  indeed  shown  Christian  graces  in  prac- 
tical ways,  ministering  to  the  saints  and  the  like;  it  would 
seem  to  be  in  other  matters  that  their  failure  lies  (6  :  10). 
The  fact  seems  to  be  that  the  writer  is  apprehensive  that 
his  readers,  or  some  of  them,  will  fall  into  indifference  as 
to  Christian  faith,  not  because  of  stress  of  persecution,  but 
through  the  lapse  of  time,  and  the  wearing  out  of  their  first 
enthusiasm.  A  sense  of  disappointment  at  the  failure  of 
the  promises  to  reach  fulfilment,  too,  is  reflected  in  the 
writer's  picture  of  the  old  worthies,  who  died  in  faith,  with- 
out having  received  the  promises  (11  :  i,  13,  39).  The 
peril  of  indifference  would  grow  more  and  more  serious 
as  time  went  on  and  the  last  indi\iduals  of  Jesus'  own 
generation  disappeared,  without  his  coming  again  in  the 
glorious  manner  so  keenly  anticipated  through  the  first 
years  of  the  life  of  the  church.  For  these  and  other  reasons, 
sluggishness  and  indiff'erence  were  creeping  into  the  church, 
and  a  stirring  declaration  of  the  folly  and  the  peril  of  such 
decline  was  urgently  demanded. 

The  purpose  of  Hebrews  was  thus  above  all  things  a 
practical  purpose.  The  cold  and  indifferent  among  those 
to  whom  this  Christian  leader  writes,  must  be  shamed  and 
startled  out  of  their  torpor  and  neglect,  and  roused  to  a 

18 


INTRODUCTION 


new  consciousness  of  the  transcendent  worth  of  that  which 
they  still  possessed,  but  were  likely  to  lose.  This,  and  not 
their  theological  instruction,  or  adjustment  to  the  downfall 
of  Judaism,  is  the  idea  which  dominates  every  part  of  the 
letter,  and  it  is  this  that  explains  the  fact  that  admonition 
and  practical  exhortation  are  so  constantly  interwoven 
with  teaching  in  the  epistle.  Hebrews  is  thus  to  be  under- 
stood not  as  a  treatise  upon  the  relation  of  Christianity 
to  Judaism,  or  upon  the  supreme  worth  of  Christianity, 
but  as  an  impassioned  oration,  wholly  centred  upon  recall- 
ing to  steadfast  devotion  to  Christ  weary  and  wavering 
disciples. 

With  the  practical  the  writer  skilfully  combines  the  apolo- 
getic. In  his  effort  to  secure  his  readers  in  their  Christian 
faith,  he  enters  upon  a  spirited  and  original  defence  of 
Christianity,  which  he  approaches  from  the  point  of  view 
of  philosophical  Judaism.  It  is  plain  that  if  the  readers  can 
be  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  writer's  claims  for  Chris- 
tianity, his  practical  purpose  will  be  attained,  and  their 
steadfastness  will  be  assured.  But  from  his  apologetic 
the  writer  again  and  again  returns  to  his  exhortation,  in 
which  the  great  motive  of  the  epistle  finds  most  direct  ex- 
pression. The  writer  well  describes  it  as  a  ''Word  of 
Exhortation,"  a  hortatory  discourse  (13  :  22). 

VI.  Date  and  Place  of  Composition 

I.  date 

The  unquestionable  use  of  the  epistle  in  Clement  of 
Rome  to  the  Corinthians,  a.d.  95,  supplies  the  latest  pos- 
sible date,  and  places  the  writing  of  Hebrews  in  the  first 
century.  The  allusion  (13  :  7)  to  the  glorious  end  met  by 
the  former  leaders  shows  that  at  least  a  generation  has 
passed  since  the  founding  of  the  Christian  church,^  and 
strongly  suggests  the  Neronian  persecution.     Yet  it  has 

'  Cf.  2  :  3  and  5  :  12. 
19 


INTRODUCTION 


been  held  by  Harnack  that  the  expulsion  of  the  Jews  in 
the  time  of  Claudius,  in  which  of  course  the  Christians 
then  in  Rome  were  involved,  better  satisfies  the  writer's 
references  to  a  great  conflict  of  sufferings  in  the  former  days 
(lo  :  32  ff.),  since  the  words  "after  you  were  enlightened" 
(10  :  32)  show  that  the  persecution  ensued  almost  imme- 
diately upon  the  founding  of  the  church,  or  at  least  fell  in 
the  early  days  of  its  history.  It  is  true  that  the  words  of 
Suetonius,  "  The  Jews  who  were  constantly  rioting  under 
the  instigation  of  Chrestus,  he  drove  from  Rome  "  (Judaeos 
impulsore  Chresto  assidue  tumultuantes  Roma  expulit) 
{Claudius  25;  cf.  Acts  18  :  2),  imply  that  Christians  were 
involved  in  that  expulsion;  but  no  such  persecution  can 
be  recognized  here  as  is  reflected  in  10  :  32-34  and  13  :  7. 
Moreover,  Dion  Cassius  expressly  says  that  Claudius  did 
not  expel  the  Jews,  but  prohibited  their  assemblies  (Hist. 
60  :  6).  These  three  notices  practically  exhaust  our  ancient 
testimony  to  this  edict  of  Claudius,  and  they  hardly  seem 
to  accord  with  the  strong  language  used  in  Hebrews  with 
reference  to  the  conflict  of  former  days. 

On  the  other  hand,  these  allusions  to  former  persecution 
are  in  every  way  fully  satisfied  by  the  Neronian  persecution 
attested  by  Tacitus  (Annals  15:  44),  and  reflected  in  Clem- 
ent of  Rome  (chh.  5,  6  ^).  The  Neronian  persecution  of  a.d. 
64  is  thus  the  earlier  limit,  before  which  the  letter  cannot 
have  been  written.^ 

Between  these  dates,  a.d.  64  and  a.d.  95,  all  agree 
that  the  writing  of  Hebrews  must  fall.  Those  who  hold 
the  purpose  of  the  letter  to  have  to  do  with  the  prospective 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  interpretation  of  that 
event  for  Christian  Jews,  place  the  composition  of  it  in 
the  time  of  the  Jewish  war,  a.d.  66-70. 

Bleek  observed  the  coincidence  of  this  date  with  the  ref- 
erence to  forty  years  (3  :  17),  which,  if  reckoned  from  the 

»  Cf.  also  Dionysius  of  Corinth,  in  Eusebius  R.E.  2  :  2$  :  8. 

'  The  possible  influence  of  Rom.  12  :  19  upon  the  form  in  which  Deut.  32  :  35  is 
quoted  in  Heb.  10  :  30  while  not  essential  to  this  position,  is  wholly  consistent  with  it, 

20 


INTRODUCTION 


death  of  Jesus,  would  bring  us  to  a.d.  68  or  69,  but  this 
somewhat  fanciful  corroborative  has  had  little  weight 
with  more  recent  scholars.  The  chief  objection  to  this 
dating  of  the  letter  lies  in  the  evident  remoteness  of  the 
Neronian  persecution,  which  lies  now  so  far  in  the  past  as 
to  belong  to  the  former  days,  and  even  to  the  infancy  of 
the  church,  —  "after  you  w^re  enhghtened "  (10:32). 
Those  who  maintain  the  early  date  of  the  epistle,  however, 
hold  to  the  Jerusalem  destination  of  it,  and  for  them  the 
matter  of  the  Neronian  persecution  has  no  connection 
with  Hebrews.  But  the  impossibility  of  maintaining  the 
Jerusalem  destination  has  already  been  shown. 

If  the  remoteness  of  the  Neronian  persecution  brings 
the  date  of  Hebrews  down  to  a  time  later  than  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem,  however,  the  silence  of  the  letter  as  to  the  latter 
occurrence  shows  that  it  too  lay  well  in  the  past,  and  brings 
the  date  down  still  further.  For  it  needs  no  argument 
to  show  that  had  that  momentous  event  been  of  recent 
occurrence,  some  hint  of  it  would  almost  certainly  have 
shown  itself  in  the  letter.  This  reticence  shows  that  that 
catastrophe  with  all  that  attended  it  is  no  longer  fresh  in 
men's  minds,  and  thus  the  lapse  of  some  years,  perhaps 
a  decade,  is  implied.^  The  probable  date  of  the  letter  is 
thus  carried  into  the  times  of  Titus  or  Domitian. 

In  the  discussion  of  the  destination  of  Hebrews  it  has  been 
shown  that  an  atmosphere  of  persecution,  prospective  or 
actually  present,  pervades  the  letter.  The  existence  of 
apostates,  the  stirring  appeal  to  heroic  behavior  in  former 
persecution,  the  reference  to  the  noble  example  set  by 
early  leaders  in  the  issue  of  their  Hfe,  the  imprisonment  of 
Timothy  (13:23)  and  others  (13:3),  the  discussion  of 
chastening  (12:5-13),  especially  the  verse  that  introduces 
it  (12:4),  —  all  these  unite  to  show  that  persecution  is 
hovering  over  the  congregation  addressed.  For  such  a 
condition  in  the  time  of  Domitian  there  is  abundant  evi- 
dence in  the  pages  of  Clement  of  Rome,  Melito,  TertulUan, 

*  Cf.  the  use  of  Mount  Zion  in  a  Christian  sense,  12  :  22. 


INTRODUCTION 


Lactantius,  Eusebius,  and  later  writers.^  Indeed,  at  no 
time  in  the  first  century,  after  Nero's  persecution,  can  the 
situation  implied  in  the  letter  he  so  well  satisfied  as  in  the 
"  sudden  and  repeated  calamities  and  reverses,"  with  which 
the  cruelty  and  caprice  of  Domitian  visited  the  Roman 
church.  There  is  therefore  every  probability  that  Hebrews 
was  written  in  the  time  of  Domitian,  a.d.  81-96. 

It  is  not  easy  to  determine  the  date  of  the  epistle  more 
precisely.  The  Timothy  of  13 :  23  is  probably  the  disciple 
of  Paul,  and  the  fact  that  he  is  still  living  and  apparently 
active  fits  well  with  this  period,  but  does  not  help  to  any- 
thing more  specific.  Nicephorus  states  that  he  suffered 
martyrdom  in  the  time  of  Domitian  {H.E.  3  :  11),  and  this 
notice,  in  so  far  as  it  has  any  worth,  accords  well  with  the 
date  assigned  to  the  letter,  since  it  at  least  implies  that  Tim- 
othy lived  until  the  times  of  Domitian.  In  the  hints  of 
persecution  already  noted  there  is,  however,  ground  for 
placing  the  date  of  the  letter  late  in  Domitian's  reign,  for 
his  early  years  seem  to  have  been  comparatively  free  from 
excesses  and  atrocities,  which  broke  out  after  the  revolt 
of  Antoninus  Saturninus  in  a.d.  88.  His  cruel  treatment 
of  his  niece  Flavia  Domitilla  and  his  cousin  T.  Flavins 
Clemens,  generally  believed  to  have  been  Christians,  be- 
longs to  the  close  of  his  reign.  The  exaction  of  the  Jewish 
temple  tax  for  the  Capitoline  Jupiter,  or  the  fiscus,  which 
was  so  harshly  carried  out  as  to  be  practically  a  persecution, 
seems  likewise  to  belong  to  this  late  time.  A  passage  in 
the  epitome  of  Dion  Cassius  (Hist.  67  :  14)  is  of  importance 
here.  "  Against  both  of  them  (Clemens  and  Domitilla) 
a  charge  of  atheism  was  brought,  under  which  many  others 
also  who  were  perverts  to  the  practices  of  the  Jews  were 
condemned.  Of  these  some  were  put  to  death  and  others 
had  their  property  confiscated  at  the  very  least."  ^  The 
fact  that  Domitian's  outbreaks  against  Jews,  Christians,  and 
noble  Romans  belong  for  the  most  part  to  his  last  years 

»  Collected  in  Lightfoot,  S.  Clement  of  Rome,  I,  pp.  104-115. 
»  Cf.  Heb.  10  :  32-34. 

22 


INTRODUCTION 


makes  it  rather  probable  that  Hebrews  was  written  toward 
the  close  of  his  reign.  If  it  be  true  that  the  Epistle  of 
Clement  of  Rome  to  the  Corinthians  was  in  some  degree 
called  forth  by  Hebrews,  Hebrews  must  have  been  written 
shortly  before  I  Clement,  and  this  date  late  in  Domitian's 
reign  is  rendered  still  more  probable. 

2.    PLACE 

In  the  matter  of  the  place  of  the  letter's  composition  a 
definite  result  is  even  more  difficult  to  obtain.  The  words 
"  they  of  Italy  salute  you  "  (13  :  24)  point  away  from  Italy, 
but  in  what  direction  we  can  only  conjecture.  Were  the 
writer  a  prisoner,  as  Timothy  has  lately  been,  and  as 
13  :  18,  19,  possibly  suggest,  we  might  think  of  Sardinia,  to 
the  quarries  of  which  persons  wxre  often  sent  from  Rome. 
But  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  the  writer  has  been  a 
prisoner,  and  were  he  an  exile  in  the  Sardinian  quarries, 
his  prospect  of  being  speedily  restored  to  his  readers  (13 :  23) 
must  have  been  small  indeed.  The  reference  to  Timothy 
would  be  helpful,  if  we  knew  where  Timothy  had  been 
imprisoned,  for  the  thought  seems  to  be  that  Timothy  on 
his  way  to  Rome  will  join  the  writer  and  they  will  proceed 
to  the  city  together.  It  is  indeed  possible  that  his  meaning 
is  simply  that  he  will  meet  Timothy  when  he  meets  his 
readers,  in  Rome,  provided  Timothy  arrives  there  before 
the  writer  has  left  the  city  again;  but  this  seems  altogether 
less  natural,  and  the  fact  that  the  writer  has  news  of  Tim- 
othy which  he  transmits  to  his  readers,  shows  that  he  writes 
from  a  point  lying  between  Timothy  and  them.  Eusebius  ^ 
and  Nicephorus  ^  state  that  Timothy  was  the  first  bishop 
of  Ephesus,  a  tradition  evidently  resting  on  notices  in  the 
pastoral  epistles  (i  Tim.  1:3,  etc.).  Yet  it  is  not  improb- 
able that  Timothy  continued  his  oversight  of  the  church 
at  Ephesus,  or  at  least  was  active  in  that  region,  after  the 
death  of  Paul.     Further,  while  the  persecution  experienced 

*  H.E.  3:4:  6.  »  Nicephorus,  H.£.  3:  II. 

23 


INTRODUCTION 


by  the  Roman  Christians  in  the  time  of  Domitian  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  a  general,  worldwide  movement, 
there  is  evidence  that  it  made  itself  felt  in  Asia,  since  Euse- 
bius  makes  it  responsible  for  the  banishment  of  the  apostle 
John  to  Patmos.^  It  is  easy  to  suppose  that  the  imprison- 
ment of'  Timothy  mentioned  in  13  :  23  was  a  part  of  the 
same  movement,  and  that  upon  his  release  he  found 
himself  at  Ephesus  or  in  its  vicinity.  There  is  at 
least  nothing  improbable  in  this,  and  it  points  to  some 
place  lying  between  Ephesus  and  Rome  as  that  at 
which  Hebrews  was  written.  Phihppi  and  Corinth  were 
such  points,  and  it  is  altogether  possible  that  at  one  of 
these  the  letter  was  written.  Yet  in  all  this  we  have  only 
probabilities,  and  sometimes  precarious  ones,  on  which  to 
build. 

The  Alexandrianism  so  characteristic  of  the  epistle  has 
suggested  to  some  that  Alexandria  was  its  place  of  origin. 
It  is  true  that  the  writer's  Judaism  is  of  that  impersonal 
and  scholastic  type  so  closely  associated  with  Alexandria, 
and  this  fact  must  not  be  lost  from  view.  Yet  it  would 
be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  type  of  Judaism  confined, 
in  the  first  century,  to  the  city  of  its  origin.  Evidence  is 
not  wanting  that  the  whole  eastern  world  had  felt  its  influ- 
ence. Moreover,  the  references  to  Italy  and  Timothy,  in 
chapter  13,  while  very  difficult  of  interpretation,  are  least  of 
all  compatible  with  an  Alexandrian  origin  for  the  epistle. 

When  Paul  wrote  his  letter  to  the  Romans  from  Corinth, 
he  seems  to  have  appended  to  it  a  long  list  of  greetings  to 
Christians  at  Rome,  including  not  a  few  salutations  from 
friends  of  theirs  at  Corinth,  some  of  them  no  doubt  persons 
who  had  formerly  been  at  Rome.  While  these  verses  in 
Romans  are  not  free  from  critical  suspicion,  they  present 
a  suggestive  parallel  to  the  words  ''they  of  Italy  salute  you," 
and  remind  us  that  in  Corinth  especially,  Roman  Chris- 
tians were  at  all  times  likely  to  be  found. 

'H.E.3:i8:i. 
24 


INTRODUCTION 


VII.   Style  and  Language 

In  contrast  with  the  nervous,  rapid,  intense,  and  often 
impetuous  style  of  Paul,  that  of  the  writer  to  the  Hebrews 
exhibits  the  utmost  rhetorical  restraint  and  poise.  At 
the  same  time,  it  is  by  no  means  wanting  in  trenchant  and 
incisive  vigor,  and  possesses  peculiar  accuracy  and  pre- 
cision. Beyond  that  of  other  New  Testament  writings 
the  language  of  Hebrews  exhibits  finish,  dignity,  and  ele- 
vation; to  a  degree  indeed  that  some  have  thought  incon- 
sistent with  a  personal  or  practical  character.  The  Greek 
in  which  it  is  written  is  more  literary  than  is  that  of  any 
other  New  Testament  book.  The  vocabulary  is  notably 
large.  It  is  not  that  of  everyday  speech,  but  rather  of  a 
school  of  theological  thought.  The  classical  and  Sep- 
tuagint  elements  in  it  are  very  considerable.  The  style 
betrays  no  less  art.  The  sentences  are  periodic  and  fitly 
proportioned,  sometimes  exhibiting,  as  Blass  has  pointed 
out,  the  Asian  rhythms  characteristic  of  prose  writers  of 
the  Common  Dialect. 

In  proportion  to  its  length  Hebrews  shows  more  abun- 
dant use  of  the  Old  Testament  than  any  other  New  Testa- 
ment book  except  the  Apocalypse,  which  surpasses  it  in  the 
number  of  its  literary  reminiscences,  but  not  in  the  bulk  of 
its  Old  Testament  material.  In  using  it  the  writer 
adheres  steadily  to  the  Septuagint;  the  possible  exceptions 
are  Heb.  lo  :  30,  where  Deut.  32  135  is  quoted  in  precisely 
the  form  of  Rom.  12  :  19;  and  Heb.  12  :  12,  where  the 
Hebrew  of  Isaiah  35  :  3  seems  to  have  influenced  him. 
Not  only  the  text  of  the  Septuagint,  but  its  canon  is  reflected 
in  the  epistle;  e.g.  in  chapter  11,  where  Maccabaean  heroes 
are  included  side  by  side  with  prophets  and  martyrs  of 
the  earlier  time. 

The  writer's  manner  of  introducing  his  quotations  from 
the  Old  Testament  is  worthy  of  note.  The  phrase  ^'It  is 
written,"  frequent  in  the  Synoptics  and  the  letters  of  Paul, 

25 


INTRODUCTION 


and  to  some  extent  in  John,  Acts,  and  i  Peter,  does  not  appear 
in  Hebrews.^  Still  less  does  the  writer  refer  his  quotations 
to  their  sources,  as  Matthew  and  Paul  often  do.  Our 
only  parallel  to  these  in  Hebrews  is  the  expression  "saying 
in  David,"  4  :  7.  Yet  his  method  is  not  usually  that  of 
tacit  reminiscence,  like  that  of  the  Apocalyptist ;  ^  for  he 
has  an  introductory  phrase  for  most  of  his  quotations. 
This  is  usually  the  colorless  "He  saith "  or  "He  said," 
and,  as  the  subject  is  unexpressed,  it  is  in  each  case  a  ques- 
tion what  subject  is  to  be  supplied  in  thought.  Sometimes, 
certainly,  a  human  speaker  is  contemplated  (2:6;  7:21). 
In  other  instances,  Christ  is  the  speaker  (2  :  12;  10  :  5) ; 
in  others,  the  Holy  Spirit  (3  :  7 ;  10  :  15).  In  most  instances 
of  express  quotation,  however,  God  appears  as  the  speaker 
(i  :5,  13;  4  :3;  5  :5,  6;  7  :  17;  8  :5,  8).  Not  that  the 
writer  assumes  God  as  the  speaker  of  everything  said 
in  the  Old  Testament,  without  distinction.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  most  cases  where  he  represents  God  as  speaking, 
he  is  following  the  example  of  the  prophet  or  psalmist  from 
whom  the  words  are  drawn.  Yet  such  instances  as  i :  6,  8 
give  color  to  the  oj)inion  that  the  writer  conceives  God  as 
the  speaker  in  all  revelation;  indeed,  in  the  first  chapter  not 
a  little  of  his  argument  seems  to  depend  upon  this  position. 

In  all  this  we  miss  the  explicit  scriptural  conception  and 
treatment  of  the  Old  Testament  so  characteristic  of  the 
Synoptic  gospels  and  of  Paul,  with  their  oft-repeated  "It 
is  written,"  and  in  this  important  and  undeniable  trait  of 
the  epistle  we  seem  to  recognize  something  not  indeed  non- 
Jewish,  but  at  all  events  non-Palestinian. 

In  conclusion,  the  precision  of  these  quotations  must  be 
mentioned.  The  writer  is  on  the  whole,  and  so  far  as  we 
can  judge,  with  the  imperfect  Septuagint  texts  at  our  com- 
mand, singularly  faithful  to  his  authorities.  This  is  at 
once  evident  if  an  extended  passage  such  as  8:8-12  be 
compared  with  its  source  in  the  Septuagint  of  Jeremiah 

»  Heb,  10:  7  is  only  an  apparent  exception. 

»  Rev.  15:  3  is  only  an  apparent  exception. 

26 


INTRODUCTION 


31  :  31-34.  Slight  differences  of  course  appear,  but  hardly 
more  than  now  exist  between  one  manuscript  of  the  Septua- 
gint  and  another.  Indeed,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
in  this  matter  of  the  precision  of  his  Old  Testament  quota- 
tions, and  his  practically  uniform  adherence  to  a  single 
text,  the  Septuagint,  the  writer  to  the  Hebrews  yields  to  no 
other  New  Testament  writer.  In  this  almost  scholarly 
habit  of  his  is  reflected  again  that  quality  of  precision  and 
exactness  which  so  strongly  characterized  his  expression 
and  his  thought. 

VIII.   Analysis  of  the  Epistle 

It  is  altogether  probable  that  an  address  and  salutation 
originally  stood  at  the  beginning  of  Hebrews,  and  how  it 
came  to  disappear,  whether  by  accident  or  design,  can  only 
be  conjectured.  The  letter  begins  immediately  with  a  state- 
ment of  its  theme,  the  completeness  and  finality  of  the 
revelation  in  the  Son  (i :  1-4).  While  the  letter  is  pecuHarly 
difficult  to  analyze,  since  instruction  and  exhortation  are 
so  interwoven  through  its  whole  course,  its  main  outhnes 
may  be  sketched  as  follows: 

I.  Christ,  the  mediator  of  the  new  revelation,  superior 
to  all  other  mediators  (angels,  Moses),  supreme  in  the  uni- 
verse, and  the  fulfiller  of  man's  destiny  of  universal  do- 
minion, I  :  1-2  :  18. 

1.  The  Son  is  shown  from  scripture  to  be  superior  to 
angels,  i  :  1-14. 

2.  The  consequent  peril  of  rejecting  the  salvation  offered 
by  the  Son,  2  :  1-4. 

3.  Man's  promised  world-dominion  realized  in  Christ, 
through  his  experience  of  suffering,  2  :  5-18. 

II.  Christ  the  Son  greater  than  Moses  the  Servant,  and 
his  Rest  superior  to  that  ushered  in  by  Joshua,  3:1-4:  13. 

1.  Christ  and  Moses,  3  :  1-6. 

2,  Warning  against  apostasy  and  unbelief,  and  conse- 
quent failure  to  attain  the  Rest  of  God,  3  :  7-4  :  13. 

27 


INTRODUCTION 


III.  Christ  above  Aaron  and  all  earthly  high  priests, 
the  final,  eternal,  sinless,  oath-attested  high  priest,  after 
the  order  of  Melchizedek,  4  :  14-7  :  28. 

1.  Exhortation  (serving  as  transition  and  introduction), 
to  hold  fast,  and  to  approach  God  with  boldness,  conscious 
of  the  presence  with  him  of  a  sympathetic  and  potent  high 
priest,  4  :  14-16. 

2.  Christ  a  true  high  priest  by  his  divine  appointment 
and  his  human  experience,  5  :  i-io. 

3.  Complaint  and  rebuke  of  the  readers'  backwardness, 
coupled  with  warning  and  encouragement,   5  :  11-6  :  20. 

4.  The  Melchizedek  priesthood  of  Jesus,  7  :  1-28. 

IV.  Christ's  high  priestly  service,  carrying  with  it  the 
new  covenant,  is  infinitely  better  than  theirs  (which  was 
but  the  shadow),  in  its  heavenly  sanctuary,  its  sacrifice 
of  himself,  and  its  eternal  efficacy,  8  :  i-io:  39. 

1.  The  new  priesthood  implies  the  new  and  better  cove- 
nant, 8  :  1-13. 

2.  The  better  sanctuary,  sacrifice,  and  ministry,  9  :  1-28. 

3.  The  final  and  eternal  efficacy  of    Christ's  sacrifice, 

10  :  1-18. 

4.  Exhortation  to  draw  near  and  hold  fast,  reenforced 
by  solemn  warnings  against  apostasy,  and  reminders  of 
former  heroic  days,  10  :  19-39. 

V.  The  character  of  faith,  as  the  faculty  of  laying  firm 
hold  on  the  unseen  realities,  exemplified  in  all  the  heroes  of 
faith,  and  preeminently  in  Jesus,  set  forth  with  especial 
reference  to  the  trials  of  the  readers,  which  are  the  dis- 
cipline of  their  faith,  not  its  disappointment,  11  :  1-12  :  29. 

1.  Faith  the  power  through  which  those  of  old  wrought 
their    achievements,    and    gained    God's    commendation, 

11  :  1-40. 

2.  Exhortation  to  follow  their  example,  or  rather  that 
of  Christ,  accepting  the  tasks  and  trials  of  life  as  the  Father's 
discipHne,  12  :  1-13. 

3.  Warning  against  moral  failure,  with  its  inexorable- 
penalty,  12  :  14-17. 

28 


INTRODUCTION 


4.  Final  contrast  of  the  old  revelation,  in  its  material 
and  repellent  aspects,  with  the  new,  heavenly,  ideal,  and 
eternal,  12  :  18-29. 

VI.  General  exhortations,  personal  matters,  and  fare- 
well, 13  :  1-25. 

IX.  Bibliography 

Introduction 

Bacon,  B.  W.  An  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament.  New 
Testament  Handbooks.  New  York.  The  Macmillan  Co. 
1900.     Pp.  140-149. 

JtJLiCHER,  Adolf.  An  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament.  New 
York.     G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons.     1904.     Pp.  148-174. 

Weiss,  Bernhard.  A  Manual  of  Introduction  to  the  New  Testa- 
ment. New  York.  The  Funk  and  Wagnalls  Co.  1889. 
Vol.  II,  pp.  1-44. 

Bleek,  Friedrich.  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament.  Edin- 
burgh.    T.  and  T.  Clark.     1870.     Vol.  II,  pp.  92-131. 

Commentary 

Westcott,  B.  F.  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  Third  edition. 
New  York.     The  Macmillan  Co.     1903. 

The   most   complete   commentary   in  English.     Learned   and 
elaborate,  rather  than  incisive  and  illuminating. 
Peake,    a.       S.       Hebrews.      New-Century    Bible.      New     York. 
Henry  Frowde,     1904. 

An  able  and  useful  small  commentary. 
Davidson,   A.   B.     The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.     Handbooks  for 
Bible    Classes.     New    York.     Charles    Scribner's    Sons.     1886. 
Able  and  suggestive. 
Rendall,  Frederic.     The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.     London  and 
New  York,     Macmillan  and  Co.     1888. 

An  original   and  often  felicitous  translation,   with  notes  of 
moderate  value. 
Weiss,  Bernhard.     A  Commentary  on  the  New  Testament.     Vol. 
IV,  Thessalonians-Revelation.     New  York  and  London.     Funk 
and  Wagnalls.     1906. 

A  running  paraphrase  of  moderate  value. 
Farrar,  F.  W.     The  Epistle  of  Paul  the  Apostle  to  the  Hebrews. 
Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools  and  Colleges.     Cambridge.     Uni- 
versity Press.     1902. 
Delitzsch,  F.     Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.     Edin- 
burgh.    T.  and  T.  Clark.     1868.     2  vols. 

29 


INTRODUCTION 


Vaughan,   C.    J.     The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.     London.     Mac- 

millan  and  Co.     1891. 
LowRiE,   S.  T.     An  Explanation  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 

New  York.     Robert  Carter  and  Bros.     1884. 
Tholuck,    a.     a    Commentary   on   the   Epistle    to   the   Hebrews. 

The     Biblical     Cabinet.     Edinburgh.     Thomas     Clark.     1842. 

2  vols. 

Theology 

Bruce,  A.  B.     The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.     The  First  Apology 

for  Christianity.     An  Exegetical  Study.     New  York.     Charles 

Scribner's  Sons.     1899. 

The  keenest  and  strongest  inquiry  into  the  real  meaning  of 

the  epistle  that  has  been  put  forth.     The  present  work  is  much 

indebted  to  it. 
MiLLiGAN,  George.     The  Theology  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 

New  York.     Charles  Scribner's  Sons.     1899. 
Rendall,    Frederic.     The   Theology   of   the   Hebrew   Christians. 

New  York.     Macmillan  and  Co.     1886. 
Stevens,    G.  B.     The   Theology   of    the   New  Testament.     Inter- 
national  Theological  Library.     New  York.     Charles  Scribner's 

Sons.     1899.     Pp.  483-522. 
Beyschlag,  W.     New  Testament  Theology.     New  York.     Charles 

Scribner's  Sons.     1895.     ^o^-  II»  PP-  282-346. 
Gould,  E.  P.     The  Biblical  Theology  of  the  New  Testament.     New 

Testament    Handbooks.      New    York.      The    Macmillan    Co. 

1900.     Pp.   160-173. 
Mathews,  Shailer,    The  Messianic  Hope  in  the  New  Testament. 

Chicago.     University  of    Chicago  Press.     1905.     Pp.    236-243. 
Weiss,    Bernhard.     Biblical    Theology    of   the    New    Testament. 

Edinburgh.    T.  and  T.  Clark.     1883.     Vol.  II,  pp.  166-229. 


30 


MORE  IMPORTANT  ABBREVIATIONS 

AV Authorized  (King  James)  Version. 

Gr Greek. 

LXX Septuagint. 

m       Margin. 

SV Standard  American  Version. 


THE   EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

I.   Christ,  the  Mediator   of   the  New   Revelation, 
Superior  to  all  other  Mediators  of  Reve- 
lation (Angels,  Moses),  Supreme  in  the 
Universe,  and  the  Fulfiller  of  Man's 
Destiny  of  Universal  Dominion, 
1 :  1-2:  18 

I.   The  Son  is  shown  from  Scripture  to  he  superior  to  angels  ^   i :  2 
1 :  1-14. 

1.  God,  having  of  old  time  spoken  unto  the  fathers  in  the 
prophets   by   divers   portions   and   in   divers   manners, 

2.  hath  at  °the  end  of  these  days  spoken  unto  us  in  °^  his 
Son,  whom  he  appointed  heir  of  all  things,  through 

»  Gr.  a  Son. 


A  brief  opening  paragraph  of  address  and  salutation  has  probably 
disappeared  from  the  beginning  of  the  epistle. 

The  Theme  of  the  Epistle:  The  Finality  of  the  Revelation  of 
God  and  Salvation  through  Jesus  Christ,  i :  1-4. 

1.  The  Greek  order  emphasizes  the  partial  and  diverse  character 
of  the  old-time  utterances  of  God  through  the  prophets,  by  beginning 
with  the  words  in  many  portions  and  in  many  ways.  The  writer 
shares  with  his  readers  acquaintance  with  this  old-time  prophetic 
revelation  and  acceptance  of  it. 

2.  The  end  of  these  days.  An  expression  derived  in  part  from 
the  LXX.  The  writer  conceives  himself  to  be  living  at  the  end 
of  an  epoch,  and  awaiting  the  Messianic  Age,  cf.  Acts  2  :  14-21. 
His  Son.  Better,  a  Son.  The  indeliniteness  of  the  word  empha- 
sizes the  contrast  with  the  prophets,  and  throws  the  emphasis  upon 
the  idea  of  sonship.  The  following  clauses  define  this  son,  as  one 
ordained  heir  of  all  things,  through  whom  the  world,  conceived  as 
the  sum  of  the  successive  ages,  was  made.     As  thus  heir  and  medium 

31 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 


whom  also  he  made  the  ^worlds;  who  °being  the  °efful- 
gence  of  his  °glory,  and  °^  the  very  image  of  his  sub- 
stance, and  °upholding  all  things  °by  the  word  of  his 
power,  when  he  had  °made  purification  of  sins,  °sat 
down  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high;  hav- 
ing become  by  so  much  better  than  the  °angels,  as  he 

»  Gr.  ages,      *  Or,  the  impress  of  his  substance 


of  creation,  he,  with  his  revelation,  stands  immeasurably  above  the 
prophets  and  theirs, 

3.  Being.  I'he  sense  is  causal,  since  he  is.  Effulgence.  Better, 
refulgence,  reflection.  The  same  rare  word  is  used  in  Wisdom  7 :  26 : 
For  she  (Wisdom)  is  the  effulgence  of  the  everlasting  light,  and  the 
spotless  mirror  of  the  power  of  God.  Glory.  That  is,  his  majesty, 
his  sublime  perfection,  is  reflected  in  this  Son.  The  very  image  of 
his  substance.  I.e.,  the  exact  stamp  of  his  nature.  The  completeness 
and  exactness  of  the  revelation  made  through  the  Son  are  thus  em- 
phasized. Upholding.  The  Son  is  the  maintainer  of  the  universe, 
as  well  as  its  heir  and  the  medium  of  its  creation.  By  the  word  of 
his  power.  Better,  by  his  word  of  power ;  that  is,  by  his  mighty 
word,  his  omnipotent  command  (Thayer). 

Made  purification.  I.e.,  cleansed  sinners  from  the  guilt  of  their 
sins,  by  his  sacrifice  of  himself.  See  7:26,  27;  9:11,  12,  etc.  Sat 
down.  Better,  took  his  seat  on  high,  at  the  right  hand  of  Majesty. 
Majesty  is  here  a  way  of  suggesting  God  in  his  sublimity.  Cf.  the 
sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  power,  Matt.  26:  64.  The  words  echo  a 
representation  of  the  exalted  state  of  the  Messiah,  found  in  Ps.  no:  i, 
and  quoted  in  the  earliest  gospels.  The  right  hand  is  the  place  of 
preeminent  honor. 

4.  Angels.  The  beings  through  whom,  in  Jewish  belief,  the  Law 
was  given  to  Moses  (Gal.  3  :  19),  and  God's  word  was  revealed  to 
the  prophets.  It  is  as  the  mediators  of  the  old  revelation  that  they 
are  mentioned  here,  in  contrast  with  the  Son,  the  medium  of  the  new. 
His  station  is  as  much  superior  to  that  of  the  angels  as  his  name  of 
Son  is  above  theirs.  This  contrast  is  continued  in  the  following 
verses:  he  is  Son  and  Firstborn,  they  are  servants  and  worship  him; 
he  is  eternal  King,  they  are  created  ministers. 

In  this  identification  of  Jesus,  the  Saviour  of  the  believer,  vs^ith  the 
loftiest  conception  of  Jewish  speculative  thought,  the  Messiah,  the 
Son  of  God,  the  writer  draws  attention  away  from  what  they  were 
likely  to  consider  the  lowly  origin  and  humble  life  of  Jesus  and  his 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  i  :  6 

5.  hath  inherited  a  more  excellent  name  than  they.      For 
unto  which  of  the  angels  said  he  at  any  time, 

°Thou  art  my  Son,  Ps-  2  =  7 

°This  day  have  I  begotten  thee  ? 
and  again, 

°I  will  be  to  him  a  Father,  a  sam.  7 : 

And  he  shall  be  to  me  a  Son?  *4 

6.  ^  And  when  he  again  ^  bringeth  in  the   ^firstborn  into 

^the  world  he  saith,  And  let  all  the  angels  of  God  wor-   ^^'^lxx  • 
Ps.  97:7 

'  Or,  And  again,  when  he  bringeth  in     *  Or,   shall  have  brought  in      ^  Gr.  the 
inhabited  earth 


disgraceful  death,  which  constituted  a  serious  stumbling-block  for 
believers  of  the  first  centuries.  See  the  careful  interpretation  of  Jesus' 
sufferings  given  by  the  writer  in  the  second  chapter,  and  the  words 
of  II  Clement,  ch.  i :  We  ought  not  to  think  meanly  of  our  Salvation, 
for  when  we  think  meanly  of  him,  we  expect  also  to  receive 
meanly. 

The  Soil's  preeminence  over  angels  in  name,  eternal  dignity,  and 
exalted  office  is  shown  from  scripture,  i :  5-14. 

5.  In  this  and  the  following  verses  a  series  of  seven  Old  Testa- 
ment passages  bearing  upon  the  Messianic  Son  of  David  are  applied 
to  Jesus,  to  show  his  superiority  as  Son  of  God  to  the  angels  who  are 
God's  ser\'ants.  Thou  art  my  Son.  Ps.  2:7.  This  is  God[s 
solemn  acknowledgment  of  the  anointed  of  David's  house  as  his 
chosen  representative.  This  day  have  I  begotten  thee.  An  in- 
tensely graphic  way  of  saying,  To-day  I  have  acknowledged  thee  as 
begotten  by  me,  that  is,  as  indeed  my  son.  The  writer  applies  these 
words  to  Jesus  as  the  true  and  consummate  anointed  (Messiah) 
of  God.  I  will  be  to  him  a  Father.  2  Sam.  7 :  14.  The  words 
were  first  spoken  of  Solomon,  but  were  extended  in  application  to  the 
line  of  Davidic  kings. 

6.  The  words  applied  in  Deut.  32  :  43  in  the  LXX  to  God  himself, 
are  here  applied  to  the  Son  of  God,  and  understood  to  be  spoken  of 
him  when  God  brings  him  again  into  the  world,  on  the  occasion  of 
his  triumphant  Messianic  return.  The  words  of  Ps.  97  : 7  may 
have  influenced  the  language  used  here.  Firstborn.  A  Messianic 
title,  expressive  not  of  physical  generation,  but  of  moral  dignity, 
applied  by  Paul  to  Jesus,  although  never  precisely  as  here.  Col. 
1:15,  Rom.  8:29.      Cf.  Ps.  89:27,  where  God  says  of  the  Messi- 

D  33 


I  :  7  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

7.  ship  him.     And  of  the  angels  °he  saith, 
Ps.  104:4  Who  maketh°  his  angels  ^  winds, 

And  his  ministers  a  flame  of  fire: 

8.  but  of  the  Son  he  saith , 

Ps. 45:6,7  ^Thy  throne,  °0  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever; 

And  the  sceptre  of  uprightness  is  the  sceptre  of  °^  thy 
kingdom. 

9.  Thou  hast  loved  righteousness,  and  hated  iniquity; 
Therefore  God,  thy  God,  hath  anointed  thee 
With  the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fellows. 


•  Or,  spirits     '  SVm,  Thy  throne  is  God  for  ever  and  ever    i  The  two  oldest  Greek 
manuscripts  read  his. 


anic  king,  I  also  will  make  him  the  firstborn.  The  title  here 
emphasizes  the  heirship  and  preeminence  of  the  Son.  The  previous 
quotations  have  shown  the  Messiah's  relation  to  God;  he  is  his  Son. 
This  passage  shows  his  relation  to  the  angels;  he  commands  their 
worship. 

7.  He  saith.  Here,  as  in  vs.  i,  and  often  in  the  epistle,  God  is 
conceived  to  be  the  speaker  in  the  Old  Testament.  His  angels 
winds.  This  sense,  which  appears  in  the  LXX  and  which  some 
find  in  the  Hebrew  itself  (Perowne),  sets  forth  the  low  estate  of  the 
messengers  and  ministers  of  God,  whom  he  transforms  into  winds 
and  flames,  impersonal  elements  of  nature,  at  his  pleasure. 

8,  9,  The  quotation  is  from  Ps.  45  :  6,  7.  Its  difficulty  lies  in  the 
fact  that  in  it  the  Messianic  king,  whose  marriage  is  celebrated  in 
that  psalm,  is  addressed  as  God.  Some  would  indeed  translate,  God 
is  thy  throne  for  ever  and  ever  (Westcott),  while  others  explain  that 
the  Messianic  king,  as  representing  God's  will  and  government  on 
earth,  is  here,  by  a  bold  figure,  directly  addressed  as  God.  The  cen- 
tral thought  of  the  quotation  lies  not  in  this  address,  but  in  the  last- 
ing possession  of  royal  dignity  —  throne,  sceptre,  anointing  —  by 
God's  favor  secured  through  uprightness  and  righteousness.  Thy 
kingdom.  Better,  his  (God's)  kingdom.  The  king's  upright  rule 
marks  his  kingdom  as  God's.  This  glowing  prophecy  and  congratu- 
lation, addressed  originally  to  some  Jewish  king,  is  here  transferred 
to  Christ,  as  the  rightful  heir  of  all  Messianic  hopes  and  affirma- 
tions. Thus  while  the  angels  are  God's  humble  servants,  Jesus  as 
Christ  is  possessed  of  eternal  kingly  dignity. 

34 


EPISTLE  TO   THE   HEBREWS  i  :  14 

10.  And, 

Thou,  Lord,  in  the  beginning  ^  hast  laid  the  founda-  Ps.  loa  :  25. 

tion  of  the  earth,  ^7 

And  the  heavens  are  the  works  of  thy  hands: 

11.  They  shall  perish;    but  thou  continuest: 

And  they  shall  all  wax  old  as  doth  a  garment; 

12.  And  as  a  mantle  shalt  thou  roll  them  up, 
As  a  garment,  and  they  shall  be  changed: 
But  thou  art  the  same. 

And  thy  years  shall  not  fail. 

13.  But  of  which  of  the  angels  hath  he  said  at  any  time. 

Sit  thou  °on  my  right  hand,  Ps.  no :  i 

Till  I  make  thine  enemies  the  footstool  of  thy  feet  ? 

14.  Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  do 
service  for  the  sake  of  them  that  shall  inherit  salva- 
tion? 

'  SV  didsi  lay 

10-12.  Words  used  of  God  by  some  exiled  Jew  are  here  applied  to 
the  Son,  who  as  Messianic  medium  of  creation  and  revelation,  shares 
in  the  changeless  and  eternal  nature  of  God  himself.  His  infinite 
superiority  to  the  angels  is  thus  again  manifest.  The  Son's  creative 
work  and  eternal  nature,  already  suggested  in  vss.  2  and  8,  are  brought 
out  again  in  this  quotation.  The  writer  understands  the  Messiah, 
conceived  in  his  creative  role,  to  be  addressed  in  the  passage,  and  his 
nature,  outlasting  his  own  creation,  marks  him  as  far  above  mere 
angels. 

13.  Ps.  no,  already  echoed  in  vs.  3,  supplies  the  crowning  testi- 
mony to  the  exalted  dignity  of  the  Son.  God  has  seated  him  at  his 
own  right  hand,  there  to  await  the  consummation  of  his  triumph. 
On  my  right  hand.  This  position  associates  the  Son  with  God 
himself  in  dignity  and  authority.  No  such  invitation  was  ever  ad- 
dressed to  angels. 

14.  So  far  from  sharing  the  supreme  exaltation  of  the  Son,  angels 
are  thus,  by  the  testimony  of  the  Jewish  scriptures,  serving  spirits, 
sent  on  God's  errands,  for  the  benefit  of  the  heirs  of  salvation.  Their 
true  position  as  compared  with  the  Son,  enthroned  and  eternal,  and 
even  with  these  heirs  of  salvation,  becomes  at  once  manifest. 

35 


2  :  I  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

2,    The  consequent  peril  of  rejecting  the  salvation  offered 
by  the  Son,  2 :  1-4 

2.  °Therefore  we  ought  to  give  the  more  earnest  heed 
to  °the   things  that  were   heard,   °lest   haply  we   drift 

2.  away  from  them.  For  if  the  word  spoken  °through 
angels  proved  stedfast,  and  every  transgression  and 
disobedience   received   a   just  recompense   of    reward; 

3.  how  shall  we  escape,  if  we  neglect  ^  so  great  salvation? 
which  °having  at  the  first  been  spoken  through  the 
Lord,   °was   confirmed  unto   us   by  them   that   heard; 

4.  °God  also  bearing  witness  with  them,  both  by  °signs 
and  wonders,  and  by  manifold  powers,  and  by  ^  gifts 
of  the  ^  Holy  Ghost,  according  to  his  own  will. 

'  SV  so  great  a  etc.  '  Gr.  distributions.  3  SV  Holy  Spirit:  and  so  throughout 
this  book. 

1.  Therefore.  That  is,  by  reason  of  this  great  superiority  of  the 
Son  to  prophets  and  angels.  The  things  that  were  heard.  The 
Christian  teaching.  Lest.  The  readers  are  in  danger  of  falling 
into  indifference. 

2.  The  old  revelation,  though  mediated  through  humbler  beings 
than  the  Son,  proved  valid,  and  transgression  of  it  brought  invaria- 
ble penalty.  Through  angels.  The  Jewish  belief  that  the  law  was 
communicated  to  Moses  through  angels  appears  also  in  Gal.  3  :  19  : 
The  law  .  .  .  ordained  through  angels  by  the  hand  of  a  mediator. 
Cf.  Acts  7  :  53.  The  writer's  respect  for  the  old  law  as  the  expression 
of  God's  will  reappears  in  this  verse. 

3.  A  fortiori,  the  salvation  offered  through  the  Son  demands  at- 
tention and  respect.  Having  at  the  first  been  spoken.  Better, 
after  beginning  to  be  uttered.  Jesus  began  the  proclamation  of  salva- 
tion. Was  confirmed  unto  us.  The  writer  does  not  belong  to 
those  who  heard  the  Lord  speak,  but,  like  his  readers,  received  the 
word  from  those  who  had.  In  this  he  is  unlike  Paul,  who  conceives 
himself  to  have  received  his  gospel  directly  from  the  risen  Jesus, 
Yet  cf.  I  Cor.  11:2,  23. 

4.  God  also  bearing  witness.  Better,  While  God  joined  in  bear- 
ing -witness  (to  it).  Signs  .  .  .  wonders  .  .  .  manifold  powers  .  .  . 
gifts  (better,  portions),  of  Holy  Spirit.     The  extraordinary  mani- 

36 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  2  :  8 

3.   Man's    promised    world-dominion    realized    in    Christ, 
through  his  experience  of  suffering,  2 :  5-18 

5.  °For  not  unto  angels  did  he  °subject  °^  the  world  to  ps.8:4-6 

6.  come,  whereof   we   speak.     But   one   hath  somewhere 
°testified,  saying, 

°What  is  man,  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him? 
Or  the  son  of  man,  that  thou  visitest  him? 

7.  Thou  madest  him  °^  a  Httle  lower  than  the  angels; 
Thou  crownedst  him  with  glory  and  honour, 

°^  And  didst  set  him  over  the  works  of  thy  hands : 

8.  Thou  didst  put  all    things  in  subjection  under  his 

feet. 
°For  in  that  he  subjected  °all  things  unto  him,  °he 
left  nothing  that  is  not  subject  to  him.     °But  now  we 

'  Gr.  the  inhabited  earth      ^  Or,  for  a  little  while  lower      3  Many  authorities  omit 
And  didst  .  .  .  fiands. 


festations  which  attended  the  early  preaching  of  salvation  through 
the  apostles  and  evangelists,  cf.  i  Cor.  12-14. 

5.  For.  I.e.,  in  explanation  of  God's  wonderful  testimony  to  the 
apostolic  preaching,  just  described.  Subject.  I.e.,  in  prospect,  in- 
tention. God  has  destined  the  dominion  of  the  world  for  others 
than  angels.  The  world  to  come.  Better,  to  be.  The  Messianic 
world. 

6.  Testified.  I.e.,  solemnly  affirmed.  What  is  man.  The 
psalmist's  first  thought  of  man  is  of  his  insignificance  as  compared 
with  God. 

7.  The  psalmist's  second  thought  is  of  man's  lofty  position  in  the 
universe;  but  little  below  the  angels  themselves,  and  crowned  with 
glory.  A  little.  Better,  little.  The  writer  of  Hebrews,  however, 
understands  the  words  to  mean  for  a  little  while;  cf.  vs.  9.  And 
didst  set  him.  Man  is  potentially  master  of  the  created  universe, 
that  is,  he  has  been  destined  to  such  mastery  by  God. 

8.  Universal  dominion  is  the  promised  destiny  of  man.  For. 
In  explanation  of  the  statement  of  vs.  5.  All  things.  As  shown  by 
the  last  clause  quoted.  He  left  nothing.  The  world  to  be  must 
therefore  be  subject  to  man.     Paul  speaks  somewhat  similarly  in 

37 


2  :  9  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

9.  see  not  yet  all  things  subjected  to  him.  But  we  be- 
hold him  who  hath  been  made  °^  a  Uttle  lower  than  the 
angels,  even  Jesus,  because  of  °the  suffering  of  death 
crowned  with  glory  and  honour,   °that  by  the  grace 

10.  of  God  he  should  taste  death  for  every  yuan.  For 
°it  became  him,  °for  whom  are  all  things,  °and 
through  whom  are  all  things,  ^in  bringing  many  sons 
unto  glory,  to  make  the  °^  author  of  their  salvation 

11.  perfect  ^through  sufferings.     °For  both  °he  that  sanc- 

^  Or ,  for  a  little  while  lower  '  Or,  having  brought  ^  Or,  captain 


I  Cor.  15  :  27,  in   dealing  with   the   same   psalm.     But  now.     Man 
has  not  realized  his  intended  destiny  of  universal  dominion. 

9.  The  prophecy  finds  an  unlooked-for  fulfilment  in  Jesus.  A 
little.  Better,  for  a  little.  The  suffering  of  death.  In  the  death 
of  Jesus,  which  was  a  stumbling-block  to  the  readers,  the  writer  finds 
rather  the  very  ground  of  his  exaltation.  This  humiliation,  endured 
on  behalf  of  men,  crowns  Jesus  with  the  glory  and  honor  spoken  of 
by  the  psalmist.  That  by  the  grace  of  God.  The  purpose  under- 
lying all  this  is  that  Jesus  should  in  accordance  with  God's  gracious 
will  experience  death  on  behalf  of  all. 

ID.  It  became  him.  Z.^-.,  God.  For  whom  .  .  .  and  through 
whom.  I.e.,  as  both  final  and  efficient  cause  in  the  universe.  Au- 
thor. Better,  leader.  Through  sufferings.  The  exaltation  of  the 
Son  to  his  place  at  God's  right  hand,  through  an  experience  of  humili- 
ation and  death,  the  waiter  asserts  to  be  a  procedure  altogether  fitting 
in  God,  as  the  constant  guide  and  goal  of  the  universe.  This  propo- 
sition must  have  been  most  difficult  of  acceptance  for  the  readers  of 
the  epistle,  to  whom  the  ignominious  death  of  Jesus  seemed  irrecon- 
cilable with  his  exalted  Messianic  office.  The  writer  finds  the  key 
to  the  mystery  in  the  evident  necessity  that  the  Son  should  share  in 
the  nature  and  experiences  of  the  other  sons  whom  God  is  bringing 
unto  glory  through  him  as  leader. 

II.  For.  In  explanation  of  the  application  of  the  name  sons  to 
those  saved  through  Christ,  and,  more  fundamentally,  in  explanation 
of  the  whole  proposition  of  vs.  10.  He  that  sanctifieth.  I.e.,  the 
Son.  Of  one.  I.e.,  sprung  from  one  parent.  The  emphasis  is  upon 
the  unity  of  nature  existing  between  the  many  sons  and  the  Son. 
For  which  cause.  Because  of  this  common  nature,  the  Son  calls 
the  many  sons  his  brothers. 

38 


LXX. 
Isa.  8 : i8 


EPISTLE  TO   THE   HEBREWS  2  :  15 

tifieth  and  they  that  are  sanctified  are  all  °of  one: 
°for  which  cause  he  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  breth- 

12.  ren,  saying, 

I  will  declare  thy  name  unto  my  brethren,  Ps.aataa 

°In  the  midst  of  the  ^  congregation  will  I  sing  thy 
praise. 

13.  And  again,  I  will  put  my  trust  in  him.     And  again,  isa.  8:17 
Behold,  I  and  the  children  ^  which  God  hath  given  me. 

14.  Since  then  °the  children  are  sharers  in  °^  flesh  and 
blood,  he  also  himself  °in  like  manner  °partook  of 
the  same;  °that  through  death  he  ^ might  bring  to 
nought   him   that    ^  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is, 

15.  °the  devil;  and  ^ might  ^deliver  °all  them  who  through 

»  Or,  church        '  SV  whom        3  Gr.  blood  and  flesh.        *  Or,  may        s  Or,  hath 

12.  The  words  of  Ps.  22  are  often  used  by  New  Testament  writers 
of  Jesus,  who  himself  uttered  the  opening  words  of  this  psalm  upon 
the  cross;  Mark  15  :  34.  The  early  Christians  interpreted  the  psalm 
Messianically,  as  here.  In  the  midst  of  the  congregation.  I.e., 
publicly. 

13.  These  quotations,  Messianically  understood  by  the  writer, 
further  exhibit  the  Son's  participation  in  the  lot  of  men,  first  in  the 
trust  in  God  which  he,  like  them,  exercises,  and  second  in  his  sub- 
mission, along  with  those  of  like  origin,  to  God's  will. 

14.  The  children ;  i.e.,  Christ's  brethren,  God's  sons,  as  they 
are  called  above.  Flesh  and  blood.  Expressive  of  man's  mortal 
nature,  which  was  shared  by  Christ.  In  like  manner ;  i.e.,  with 
them.  Partook  of  the  same.  Shared  their  mortal  life.  That 
through  death.  Christ's  participation  in  human  nature  had  this 
purpose,  that  through  death  he  might  overthrow  the  dominion  of 
evil  over  men.  How  he  did  this  the  writer  shows  elsewhere.  "  Christ 
delivers  from  the  fear  of  death  by  dying  as  a  sinless  one  "  (Bruce). 
The  devil.  The  devil's  sway  is  exercised  in  the  realm  of  death 
(Davidson). 

15.  Deliver.  This  participation  of  Christ  in  the  direst  experi- 
ence of  his  brethren  robs  it  of  its  terror,  and  frees  them  from  the  fear 
which  has  hitherto  enthralled  them  to  the  Lord  of  Death.  All  .  .  . 
who.  Those  who  realize,  as  dying  men,  their  bondage  to  death  and 
the  fear  of  it. 

39 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 


fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage. 
i6.    For  °verily  not  ^  of  angels  doth  he  °take  hold,  but  he 

17.  taketh  hold  of  °the  seed  of  Abraham.  ° Wherefore 
°it  behoved  him  in  all  things  to  be  made  Hke 
unto  °his  brethren,  that  he  might  ^be  a  °merciful 
and  °faithful  high  priest  in  things  pertaining 
to  God,  °to  make  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  °the 

18.  people.  °^  For  ^  in  that  he  himself  hath  suffered 
being  tempted,  °he  is  able  to  succour  them  that  are 
tempted. 


»  SV  to  angels  doth  he  give  help  but  he  giveth  help  to  etc.     '  SV  become     s  Or,  For 
having  been  himself  tempted  in  that  wherein  he  hath  suffered      *  Or,  wherein 


16.  Verily.  Better,  of  course.  Take  hold.  I.e.,  help.  It  is 
not  to  angels,  beings  with  no  fear  of  death,  that  he  extends  his  aid. 
The  seed  of  Abraham;  in  Paul's  sense:  If  ye  are  Christ's,  then 
are  ye  Abraham'' s  seed,  Gal.  3:29.  Christian  believers,  heirs  of 
Abraham's  faith,  are  the  objects  of  the  succor  which  Jesus  brings. 

17.  Wherefore.  I.e.,  because  of  his  purpose  to  help  men.  It 
behoved  him.  I.e.,  he  was  bound,  by  the  conditions  of  his  task,  to 
participate  throughout  in  the  experience  of  mankind.  His  breth- 
ren. Areminiscenceof  the  quotation  in  vs.  12.  Merciful.  7.e.,  com- 
passionate. Faithful.  Suggesting  the  Godward  aspect  of  his  priestly 
task.  The  writer's  distinctive  interpretation  of  Jesus  as  high  priest 
is  here  first  introduced.  His  human  experience  prepares  him  to  be 
a  compassionate  minister  for  men.  To  make  propitiation.  The 
duty  of  the  high  priest  in  Judaism.  The  people.  An  Old  Testa- 
ment term  for  the  congregation  of  Israel,  here  applied,  like  "  the  seed 
of  Abraham  "  above,  to  Christian  believers. 

18.  For  in  that,  etc.  Rather,  For  because  he  himself  has  been 
tempted  in  that  which  he  suffered.  He  is  able.  Equipped  through 
his  experience  of  the  temptation  to  shun  the  suffering  met  in  the 
path  of  duty,  to  sympathize  with  those  who,  like  his  readers,  are 
tempted  to  fall  away  from  their  divinely  appointed  tasks. 


40 


II.   Christ  the  Son  Greater  than  Moses  the 

Servant,  and  his  Rest  Superior  to  that 

ushered  in  by  joshua,  3:  i-4 :  i3 

I.   Christ  and  Moses,  3:1-6  3*3 

3.       ^Wherefore,  °holy  brethren,  partakers  of  °a  heavenly 
calling,   °consider   the    °Apostle    and   °High   Priest   of 

2.  °our  confession,  even  Jesus;   °who  was  faithful  to  °him 
that  °  ^  appointed  him,  °as  also  was  Moses  in  °all  ^  his 

3.  house.     °For  he  °hath  been  counted  worthy  of  more  Num.  12:7 

I  Gr.  made.  '  That  is,  God's  house.    See  Num.  xii.  7. 

1.  Wherefore.  I.e.,  in  view  of  the  whole  argument  thus  far, 
especially  the  conception  of  Jesus  as  a  faithful  high  priest.  Holy 
brethren  recalls  the  designation  of  believers  as  sanctified,  2:11,  and 
as  Christ's  brethren,  2:  12.  A  heavenly  calling.  A  call  to  the  pos- 
session of  heaven.  The  contrast  of  the  heavenly  with  the  earthly, 
so  characteristic  of  the  epistle,  begins  now  to  appear.  Consider, 
Better,  observe.  Apostle.  I.e.,  ambassador,  commissioner.  The 
reference  is  to  the  "  sending  "  of  Moses,  Ex.  3  :  10.  High  priest. 
These  titles  the  writer  applies  to  Jesus,  as  the  highest  in  the  Old 
Testament  religion.  Our  confession.  The  religion  that  we  pro- 
fess, 

2.  Who  was  faithful.  Better,  as  being  faithful,  ^.e.,that  he  was 
faithful;  already  afl&rmed  in  general  of  Jesus  in  2  :  17.  Him  that 
appointed.  God.  The  same  word  "  made  "  is  used  of  appointing 
the  apostles,  Mark  3  :  14.  Appointed  him.  I.e.,  an  apostle.  As 
also  was  Moses.  The  commissioner  of  our  religion  does  not  fall 
short  of  the  commissioner  of  the  old  even  in  that  faithfulness  in  which 
Moses  so  excelled.  All  his  house.  I.e.,  God's  house,  Christ  as 
well  as  Moses  had  to  do  with  all  God's  house. 

3.  Jesus  not  only  equals  Moses  in  his  faithfulness  in  his  equally 
comprehensive  task  ("in  all  God's  house");  he  surpasses  him  in 
dignity,  as  the  creator  of  the  house  to  which  Moses  belonged.  For. 
Introducing    the    ground    of    the     previous    exhortation,    consider. 

41 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 


glory  than  Moses,  by  so  much  as  he  that  °^  built  °the 

4.  house  hath  more  honour  °than  the  house.  °For  every 
house   is    ^  builded  by  some    one ;    °but  he  that  ^  built 

5.  all  things  is  God.  And  Moses  indeed  was  faithful 
in  all  ^  his  house  as  a  servant,  °for  a  testimony  of 
those    things    which   were    afterward     to    be    spoken; 

6.  °but  Christ  as  a  son,  over  ^  his  house ;  °whose 
house  are  we,  °if  we  hold  fast  our  boldness  and  the 
glorying  of  our  hope  firm  unto  the  end. 

'  Or,  established  '  That  is,  God's  hoitse.     See  Num.  xii.  7 


Hath  been  counted  worthy.  And  hence  enjoys.  The  emphasis 
is  upon  his  state  of  dignity,  not  upon  the  attainment  of  it.  Built. 
I.e.,  built  and  equipped.  The  house.  In  the  sense  of  house  and 
household,  including  the  servants  of  it.  Than  the  house.  Moses, 
as  created,  is  part  of  God's  house,  his  world,  or  church.  The  Son 
is  of  more  glory  than  the  whole  house,  much  more  than  a  member 
of  it.  Thus  the  Son,  as  creator,  stands  far  above  Moses  in  glory  and 
honor. 

4.  For  every  house.  A  general  remark,  suggested  by  the  ex- 
pression built  the  house  used  above.  Every  house  has  an  immediate 
builder,  just  as  the  church  had  in  Christ.  But  he  that  built.  Back 
of  all  builders  is  God,  the  ultimate  creator  of  all,  who  through  Christ 
made  the  worlds,  i :  2,  and  the  church,  t,  '•  3- 

5.  Moses,  with  all  his  faithfulness,  was  but  a  servant  in  the  house 
in  which  Christ  is  the  Son,  It  was  as  a  servant  that  Moses  was 
faithful;  cf.  Num.  12:7.  ^^^  ^  testimony.  To  bear  witness  to 
the  things  that  were  to  be  said,  that  is,  later,  by  Christ  himself.  The 
witnessing  of  Moses  subordinates  him,  and  the  revelation  of  which 
he  was  the  representative,  to  the  loftier  revelation  to  which  he  as  a 
servant  pointed. 

6.  But  Christ.  Sc.  was  faithful.  Christ  was  faithful  in  a  loftier 
and  more  responsible  relation  than  Moses,  presiding  as  Son  and  heir 
over  God's  house.  Whose  house.  Or,  and  we  are  his  house. 
Christian  believers  are  preeminently  the  house  of  God,  In  this  the 
writer's  thought  of  the  transient  and  provisional  nature  of  Judaism 
and  the  superiority  of  Christianity  is  again  reflected.  If  we  hold 
fast.  His  readers  are  in  danger  of  loosening  their  hold  upon  the 
boldness  and  boasting  of  their  hope.  He  reminds  them  that  they 
must  hold  their  Christian  hope  steadfast  unto  the  end. 

42 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  3  :  lo 

Warning  against  apostasy  and  unbelief,  and  consequent 
failure  to  attain  the  Rest  of  God,  3 :  7-4: 13 

° Wherefore,  even  as  °the  Holy  Ghost  saith, 

°To-day,  °if  ye  shall  hear  his  voice,  Ps.  95:: 

°Harden  not  your  hearts,  °as  in  the  °pro vocation, 
Like  as  in  the  day  of  the  °^  temptation  in  the  wilder- 
ness, 
°^  Wherewith  your  fathers  tempted  me  °by  proving  me, 
And  saw  my  works  °forty  years. 
°Wherefore  I  was  displeased  with  °this  generation, 
And  said.  They  do  ^alway  °err  in  their  heart: 

'  SV  trial  »  SV  Where  3  SV  always 


The  moral  failure  of  the  Hebrews  due  to  unbelief,  3:  7-19. 

7.  Wherefore.  I.e.,  in  view  of  the  promise  of  v.  6.  The  Holy 
Ghost  saith.  The  words  of  the  Old  Testament  are  appropriated  by 
the  writer,  as  a  warning  needed  by  his  readers.  The  LXX  form  of 
it,  which  is  here  in  general  followed,  departs  from  the  Hebrew  in  some 
points.  To-day.  In  contrast  with  the  day  of  temptation  in  the 
wandering  long  before.  If  ye  shall  hear.  Hearing  God's  voice 
carries  with  it  the  responsibility  of  heeding  it.  In  the  Hebrew,  this 
clause  is  a  wish:    Oh  that  ye  would  hear. 

8.  Harden  not  your  hearts.  I.e.,  into  unbelief  and  indifference. 
"  Provocation  and  temptation  are  translations  of  the  Hebrew  Meri- 
bah  and  Massah,  proper  names  in  the  Psalm,  though  having  this 
meaning"  (Davidson).  For  the  incidents  referred  to,  see  Ex.  17: 
1-7;  Num.  20:1-13;  Deut.  33:8.  As.  Sc,  your  fathers  did. 
Provocation.  I.e.,  of  God.  Temptation.  I.e.,  the  trying  of  God. 
These  events  fell  the  one  near  the  beginning,  the  other  toward  the 
close  of  the  wilderness  wandering. 

9.  Wherewith.  Better,  where.  By  proving.  I.e.,  by  putting 
to  the  proof.  As  here  quoted,  the  passage  means,  Where  your  fa- 
thers for  forty  years  tried  my  works  by  putting  them  to  the  proof,  and 
saw  them.  Forty  years  suggests  the  unreasonable  prolongation  of 
this  incredulous  testing;  although  the  fathers  saw  the  works,  they 
continued  to  test  them.  Forty  years  in  both  Hebrew  and  LXX  lim- 
its I  was  displeased,  as  in  vs.  17. 

10.  Wherefore.     Because  of   this  prolonged  incredulity.     This. 

43 


3  :  II  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

But  they  did  not  °know  °my  ways ; 

11.  °^As  I  sware  in  my  wrath, 

^  They  shall  not  enter  into  my  °rest. 

12.  °Take  heed,  brethren,  lest  haply  there  shall  be  in 
any  one  of  you  an  evil  heart  °of  unbelief,  °in  falling 

13.  away  from  °the  living  God:  °but  exhort  one  another 
day  by  day  °so  long  as  it  is  called  To-day;  °lest  any 
one  of  you  be  ^hardened  by  the  °deceitfulness  of  sin: 

14.  for  we  are  become  °partakers  ^  of  Christ,  if  we  hold 

'  SVm  So  '  Gr.  //  Ihey  shall  enter.  3  Or,  with 

LXX  reads  that;  the  generation  in  the  wilderness  is  meant.  Err, 
I.e.,  wander,  suggestive  of  spiritual  wanderings  akin  to  their  wander- 
ings in  the  wilderness.  Know,  That  is,  either  understand,  or  learn. 
My  ways.  Ignorance  or  dislike  of  which  caused  their  wandering 
in  heart.     That  thought  is  here  repeated  in  negative  form. 

11.  As  connects  the  oath  with  the  anger  reflected  in  it;  I  was  an- 
gered with  this  generation  .  .  .  even  as  I  sware  in  my  wrath.  The 
psalmist's  reference  is  to  Num.  14:  21-23,  28-35.  Rest.  Used  as 
in  Deut.  12:  9:  The  rest  and  inheritance  which  Jehovah  thy  God 
giveth  thee;  i.e.,  the  promised  land,  and  the  security  anticipated 
there.  This  quotation,  3:7-11,  serves  as  a  text  for  the  warnings 
and  admonitions  that  follow,  3:  12-4: 13. 

12.  Take  heed.  The  writer  applies  the  warning  of  the  psalm  to 
his  readers.  Many  scholars  connect  this  with  the  Wherefore  of  vs.  7, 
making  7b-ii  parenthetical.  Of  unbelief.  I.e.,  an  evil,  unbelieving 
heart.  In  falling  away.  Indicative  of  the  content  of  the  previous 
expression,  i.e.,  the  unbelieving  heart  will  manifest  itself  in  apostasy 
from  God,  The  living  God.  A  favorite  designation  with  the 
writer  (cf.  9:14;  10  :  31 ;  12 :  22),  as  with  Paul,  and  strongly  suggest- 
ing that  it  is  a  lapse  not  into  Judaism,  but  paganism,  that  threatens 
the  readers. 

13.  But.  In  contrast  with  neglect  or  indifference.  So  long  as 
it  is  called  To-day.  I.e.,  w^hile  it  is  still  possible  to  speak  of  To-day 
—  the  interval  of  opportunity.  The  writer  gives  the  To-day  of 
the  psalmist  a  Christian  sense,  viz.,  the  fleeting  present  age  preceding 
the  Messianic  era.  Lest  any  one  of  you.  The  clause  gives  either 
the  purpose  or  the  content  of  the  exhortation  which  the  writer  enjoins. 
Hardened.  Echoes  the  Harden  not  of  the  psalmist,  vs.  8.  Deceit- 
fulness  of  sin.     The  sin  of  unbelief  threatens  them  in  disguise. 

14.  Partakers  of  Christ.     I.e.,  either  sharers  in  the  Christ  or 

44 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  3  :  16 

fast  °the  beginning  of  our  confidence  firm  °unto  the 

15.  end:    °while  it  is  said, 

To-day,  if  ye  shall  hear  his  voice,  ^^-  95:7,  ^ 

Harden  not  your  hearts,  as  in  the  provocation. 

16.  °For   °who,  °when  they  heard,  °did  provoke?    °nay, 
did  not  all  they  °that  came  out  of  Egypt  °by  Moses? 


partners  of  the  Christ;  the  latter  meaning  is  the  more  probable,  in 
view  of  the  writer's  representation  of  Christ  as  leader  and  brother. 
Participation  in  this  partnership  is  conditioned  on  steadfast  adher- 
ence to  the  faith  they  have  professed.  The  beginning  of  our  con- 
fidence. The  conviction  and  assurance  which  we  felt  at  the  begin- 
ning of  our  experience.  Unto  the  end.  The  readers  of  the  epistle 
are  in  grave  danger  of  growing  cold  and  weary  amid  their  trials  and 
disappointments. 

15.  The  first  couplet  of  the  quotation  is  here  repeated,  with  direct 
application  to  the  readers  addressed.  The  warning  of  the  psalmist 
is  now  applied  directly  to  them.  While  it  is  said.  The  verse  may 
be  connected  with  the  preceding.  We  are  partners  .  .  .  if  we  hold 
fast;  as  it  is  said,  If  ye  shall  hear  his  voice  to-day,  etc.;  or  it  may 
be  regarded  as  independent;  While  it  is  called  to-day,  i.e.,  while  the 
interval  of  opportunity  still  continues,  .  .  .  harden  not  your  hearts. 
The  latter  is  the  more  probable,  and  the  verse  thus  resumes  the  ex- 
hortation of  vs.  13,  leaving  vs.  14  a  parenthesis.  The  exhortation 
that  no  one  be  hardened  which  the  readers  are  told  to  give  each 
other,  vs.  13,  is  here  made  directly  to  them  in  the  very  words  of  the 
psalm. 

16.  This  and  the  following  verses  in  a  series  of  questions  point 
the  lessons  of  the  Israelites'  moral  failure,  and  find  a  parallel  between 
their  condition  and  that  of  the  readers.  For,  The  writer  defends 
his  bold  application  of  this  sinister  warning  to  the  believers  addressed; 
they  are  not  so  unlike  those  Israelites  of  old  who  fell  victims  to  un- 
belief and  apostasy.  They  doubtless  thought  themselves  in  no  such 
dire  peril.  Who.  Just  who  were  these  provokers  of  God,  whose 
sin  and  fate  have  become  proverbial?  When  they  heard;  better, 
although  they  heard.  The  readers,  too,  have  heard  God's  voice. 
Did  provoke.  Referring  to  the  provocation  mentioned  in  the  psalm. 
Nay,  did  not  all.  They  were  not  a  few,  but  a  multitude,  a  whole 
generation.  The  conduct  of  one's  fellows  may  be  no  sound  criterion 
of  the  will  of  God.  That  came  out  of  Egypt.  All  these  apostates 
had  started  for  the  Promised  Land  with  Moses,  just  as  the  readers 
have  set  out  for  the  better  country;  a  suggestion  that  the  Christian 
profession  once  made   is   no  guarantee   against   subsequent   moral 

45 


17  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

17.  And   with   whom   was    he    °displeased   °forty   years? 
was  it  not  with  them  that  °sinned,  °whose  ^  carcases 

18.  fell  in  the  wilderness?    And  °to  whom  sware  he  that 
they  should  not  enter  into  °his  rest,  but  to  them  that 

19.  were  disobedient?     And  we  see  that  °they  were  not 
able  to  enter  in  because  of  unbelief. 

4.       °Let  us  fear  °therefore,  lest  haply,  °a  promise  being  left 

'  Gr.  limbs;    SV  bodies 


failure.  By  Moses.  These  men  had  at  first  been  believers  in 
Moses,  and  had  followed  him  forth  from  Egypt.  A  striking  parallel 
is  thus  instituted  between  the  Israelites  and  the  readers  of  the  epistle, 
yet  so  skilfully  and  tactfully  as  to  make  offence  impossible. 

17.  The  next  step  in  the  moral  failure  of  the  Israelites;  their 
provocation  incensed  God  through  forty  years.  The  writer  is  tracing 
the  steps  through  which  Israel  came  to  be  excluded  from  the  Promised 
Rest.  Displeased.  Better,  incensed,  wroth.  Forty  years.  Here 
connected,  not  as  in  vs.  g  with  saw  my  works,  but  as  in  the  Hebrev/ 
and  LXX,  with  /  was  displeased.  Sinned,  Herein  lay  the  occasion 
of  God's  wrath  and  the  key  to  the  fate  of  the  Israelites.  It  was 
against  them  as  sinners  that  his  wrath  was  directed.  Whose  car- 
cases fell.  Their  fate,  declared  in  Num.  14:  29,  is  mentioned  here 
in  dreadful  proximity  to  the  fault  which  caused  it.  Dying  in  misery 
and  disappointment,  their  bodies  had  been  left  behind  unburied  in 
the  desert,  all  through  their  sin,  which  had  incensed  God  against 
them. 

18.  The  final  step  in  the  history  that  is  being  traced;  God  in  his 
anger  swore  that  they,  as  disobedient,  should  never  enter  into  his 
Rest.  To  whom.  The  question,  like  the  others,  fixes  attention  on 
the  persons  who  incurred  God's  curse;  they  were  no  others  than 
those  who  disobeyed.  His  rest.  As  above,  the  inheritance,  the 
Promised   Land  of  security  and  ease. 

19.  From  this  survey  the  writer  concludes  that  the  moral  failure 
of  Israel  was  due  to  unbelief.  They  were  not  able.  Their  failure  to 
reach  the  promised  rest  in  Canaan  was  at  bottom  owing  simply  to 
unbelief,  which  manifested  itself  in  disobedience  and  the  provoking 
of  God  by  continually  putting  him  and  his  works  to  the  proof. 

The  rest  unattained  by  the  Hebrews  awaits  believers,  who  have 
need  of  redoubled  diligence  to  secure  it,  4:  1-13. 

I.  The  lesson  and  warning  are  drawn  from  the  fate  of  Israel. 
Let  us  fear.     We  dare  not  be  too  sure  of  our  inheritance,  because 

46 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  4  : 3 

of  entering  into  °his  rest,  any  one  of  you  °should  seem 

2.  to  have  °come  short  of  it.  °For  indeed  we  have  had 
°^  good  tidings  °preached  unto  us,  °even  as  also  they: 
but  °the  word  of  hearing  °did  not  profit  them,  because 
°^  they  were  not  united  by  faith  with  them  that  heard. 

3.  °^  For  we  °^  which  have  believed  do  enter  °into  that 
rest;   even  °as  he  hath  said, 

As  I  sware  in  my  wrath,  Ps.  95:11 

^  They  shall  not  enter  into  °my  rest: 


'  Or,  a  gospel     »  SV,  with  some  ancient  authorities,  reads  it  was.     3  Some  ancient 
authorities  read  We  therefore.     *  SV  who     s  Gr.  //  they  shall  enter. 


we  have  heard  a  gospel  and  set  out  in  faith  for  the  better  country, 
for  so  did  they.  Therefore.  In  view  of  the  similarity  of  their  early 
condition  to  ours,  A  promise  being  left.  Or,  although  a  promise 
is  left.  The  promise,  unattained  by  them,  is  still  valid  and  open, 
but  on  the  old  terms  and  penalties.  His  rest.  The  rest  as  used  in 
the  psalm  and  in  Deut.  12:9  denoted  the  Promised  Land.  As  here 
used,  however,  it  has  a  larger  meaning,  viz.,  salvation  conceived  as 
participation  in  the  eternal  rest  of  God,  akin  indeed  to  the  rest  long 
before  promised  to  the  Israelites,  but  far  grander.  Should  seem. 
Rather,  should  be  found,  i.e.,  in  the  forensic  sense  of  being  convicted. 
Come  short.     Fallen  short  of  attaining  it. 

2.  For.  Introducing  the  ground  of  the  apprehension  just  ex- 
pressed. Good  tidings.  Better,  a  gospel.  Preached.  As  the 
Israelites  had  heard  his  voice,  so  these  believers  have  heard  it  in  the 
gospel.  Even  as  they.  The  writer  does  not  hesitate  to  say  that 
the  Israelites  had  a  gospel  preached  to  them.  This  gospel  concerned 
the  promised  rest.  The  word  of  hearing.  Or,  the  word  which 
they  heard.  Did  not  profit;  to  hear  was  not  enough,  and  is  not 
enough  for  us.  They  were  not  united.  Lit.,  mingled,  blended. 
The  more  probable  reading  is,  it,  i.e.,  the  word  heard,  was  not  united. 
There  was  no  vital  appropriation  of  the  word  of  God  which  they 
heard,  and  this  was  due  to  want  of  faith,  by  which  alone  such  appro- 
priation could  be  effected.     Cf.  3:  19. 

3.  The  affirmation  here  made  about  Christian  believers  is  similar 
to  that  made  in  3:  6,  We  are  God's  house.  For.  The  writer  sup- 
ports the  claim  of  vs.  i,  that  a  promise  of  entering  into  the  Rest  of 
God  is  still  open  and  valid.  Which  have  believed.  I.e.,  in  Christ. 
Into  that  rest.     Christian  believers  have  a  share  in  the  ideal  rest 

47 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

although  °the  works  were  finished  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world.     °For  °he  hath  said  °somewhere  of  the 
seventh  day  on  this  wise,  And  God  rested  on  the  seventh 
day  from  all  his  works;   and  in  this  place  °again, 
°^  They  shall  not  enter  into  my  rest. 

'  Gr.  //  they  shall  enter. 


long  since  promised  and  still  open  to  possessors  of  faith.  Vss.  3b-io 
supply  the  proof  of  this  proposition.  As  he  hath  said.  The  words 
of  the  psalm,  as  used  here,  prove  that  there  is  a  rest,  and  that  it  has 
not  been  attained  (Westcott).  My  rest.  The  following  clause 
shows  that  the  rest  is  here  understood  in  connection  with  that  rest  of 
God  into  which  he  entered  when,  after  creation,  he  rested  from  all 
the  works  which  he  had  made.  Gen.  2:2.  The  works.  I.e.,  the 
creative  activities  mentioned  in  Gen.  2:2  as  made  and  completed. 
The  completion  of  the  works,  ushering  in  the  divine  rest,  shows 
that  the  rest  exists,  and  the  failure  of  the  Israelites  to  enter  it  is 
not  due  to  any  unreadiness  on  the  part  of  the  rest  or  of  God.  From 
another  point  of  view,  "  that  creation-rest  does  not  exhaust  the 
idea  and  promise  of  rest  "  (Bruce).  This  suggests  that  the  offer 
of  rest  to  the  Israelites,  especially  as  it  was  not  taken  advantage 
of,  did  not  exhaust  God's  purpose  of  giving  rest  to  his  people. 
The  divine  purpose  of  rest-giving  transcends  not  only  the  first  but 
the  second  of  these  rests  as  well. 

4.  For.  In  support  of  this  view  of  the  divine  rest  the  account  of 
creation  is  appealed  to.  He  hath  said.  God  or  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
thought  of  by  the  writer  as  speaking  in  scripture,  cf.  3:7;  10:  15. 
Somewhere.  In  Gen.  2:  2,  but  the  writer  does  not  interrupt  his 
argument  to  cite  the  book,  which  he  doubtless  knew  as  Genesis. 
That  God  has  provided  a  rest  and  has  himself  entered  into  it  is  es- 
tablished for  his  argument  by  this  passage. 

5.  Again.  The  writer  places  beside  the  passage  quoted  stating 
the  establishment  of  a  rest,  another  which  shows  that  the  Israelites 
did  not  enter  upon  it.  The  difference  between  the  two  rests  does  not 
disturb  him,  since  he  conceives  the  greater  to  include  the  less,  or 
rather  both  to  be  but  parts  in  a  grander  divine  purpose  of  providing 
rest  for  all  who  will  lay  hold  of  it  through  faith.  They  shall  not 
enter.  That  God  swore  this  in  his  wrath  shows  the  writer  that  his 
purpose  had  been  that  they  should  enter,  and  that  as  they  have 
failed  to  meet  God's  conditions  of  entrance,  the  rest  provided  must 
still  be  awaiting  appropriation. 

6.  The  promise  of  rest,  forfeited  by  the  Israelites,  holds  over,  since 

48 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  4  :  8 

6.  Seeing  °therefore  it  remaineth  that  °some  should  enter 
thereinto,  and  °they  to  whom  °^  the  good  tidings  were 
°before  preached  failed  to  enter  in  °because  of   disobe- 

7.  dience,  °he  °again  °defmeth  a  °certain  day,  ^  saying  °in 
David,  °after  so  long  a  time,  °To-day,  ^as  it  hath  been 
before  said. 

To-day  if  ye  shall  hear  his  voice,  Ps.  95 :  7, 

Harden  not  your  hearts. 

8.  For   if  °^Joshua    had    given  them  rest,  he   would   not 

'  Or,  the  gospel  was        *  Or,  To-day,  saying  in  David,  after  so  long  a  time,  as  it 
hath  been,  etc.  3  SV  even  as  hath  been  said  before.  ♦  Gr.  Jesus. 

God's  intention  was  that  men  should  share  that  rest  with  him.  There- 
fore. In  view  of  the  two  passages  just  quoted.  Some  should  enter. 
The  readiness  of  the  rest,  and  God's  purpose  that  men  should  share 
it,  are  not  to  be  disappointed;  some  are  to  be  found  to  enter  the 
rest.  They  to  whom.  The  wilderness-generation  of  Israelites. 
The  good  tidings  were.  Better,  a  gospel  was.  The  writer  con- 
ceives the  revelation  of  Moses  to  have  been  a  gospel,  a  welcome 
declaration  of  God's  will.  Before.  In  contrast  with  the  genera- 
tion to  which  the  gospel  of  Christ  was  presented.  Because  of  dis- 
obedience.    As  shown  in  3  :  18. 

7.  He.  God,  or  the  Holy  Spirit,  speaking  in  scripture.  Again. 
This  had  before  been  done  at  the  time  of  the  Exodus.  Defineth. 
Or,  appoints.  A  certain  day.  With  this  should  be  connected 
the  phrase  To-day.  Thus :  He  again  appoints  a  day,  To-day, 
saying,  etc.  In  David.  The  writer,  like  other  ancient  readers 
of  the  Old  Testament,  ascribed  the  Psalms  to  David.  In  the  LXX 
this  psalm  has  the  name  of  David  in  its  title,  but  not  in  the  Hebrew. 
After  so  long  a  time.  I.e.,  as  intervened  between  the  Exodus  and 
the  writing  of  Ps.  95.  To-day.  The  renewal  of  the  invitation  to 
the  rest  which  is  implied  in  the  words  of  the  psalm  implies  that  the 
rest  is  still  available. 

8.  The  renewed  invitation  to  the  rest  shows  that  the  generation 
which  took  possession  of  Canaan  did  not  fully  realize  God's  purpose 
of  giving  rest  to  his  people.  Joshua.  The  readers  might  have 
rejoined,  that  while  the  wilderness  generation  indeed  forfeited  the 
rest  of  God,  i.e.,  the  inheritance  in  Canaan,  their  posterity  under 
Joshua  certainly  achieved  it.  The  writer  seeks  to  anticipate  this 
objection,  pointing  to  God's  renewal  through  the  psalmist  of  the 
invitation  to  share  in  the  rest,  as  evidence  that  the  rest  has  never 

E  49 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

9.  have  spoken  °afterward  of  another  day.     °There  re- 
maineth   °therefore   °a  sabbath  rest   for  °the   people 

10.  of  God.     °For  °he  that  is  entered  into  °his  rest  hath 
himself  also  rested  from  his  works,  as  God  did  from 

11.  his.     Let  us  °therefore   °give  dihgence  to  enter  °into 

been  fully  realized  and  appropriated  by  men,  as  God  intended. 
Afterward.  The  psalm,  written  long  after  the  days  of  Joshua  and 
naming  To-day  as  a  time  for  hearing  God's  voice  and  accepting  his 
promised  rest,  shows  that  more  had  been  intended  by  God's  earlier 
invitations  than  mere  residence  in  Canaan. 

9.  The  proposition  here  arrived  at  by  the  writer  importantly 
supports  his  assertion  in  vs.  3,  We  who  have  believed  do  enter  into 
that  rest.  There  remaineth.  Since  the  promise  of  rest  has  never 
hitherto  been  thoroughly  appropriated  or  fulfilled.  Therefore; 
in  view  of  the  argument  of  vss.  3b-8.  A  sabbath  rest.  Gk.  a 
sabbatism;  by  substituting  this  word  for  the  one  hitherto  used  for 
rest  in  the  epistle,  the  writer  connects  the  promised  rest  more  dis- 
tinctly with  the  rest  entered  upon  by  God  on  the  seventh  day  (Gen. 
2:2).  Such  a  sabbath  rest  as  God  himself  enjoys  is  in  store  for  the 
faithful,  obedient,  persevering  people  of  God.  It  is,  therefore,  not 
mere  repose  after  toil  and  care,  but  in  some  degree  a  participation 
in  God's  blessedness.  Under  the  form  of  this  rest,  or  sabbath  rest, 
it  must  be  remembered,  the  writer  is  setting  forth  the  Messianic 
salvation,  the  highest  good,  the  goal  of  existence.  The  people  of 
God.  In  itself  this  expression  may  apply  to  the  Jewish  people  of 
old,  but  as  used  here  its  primary  application  is  to  Christian  believers; 
cf.  3:6;    4:3- 

10.  For.  In  explanation  of  the  remarkable  identification  just 
made  of  the  rest  reserved  for  the  people  of  God  with  the  sublime 
sabbath  rest  entered  upon  by  God  after  creation,  the  writer  points 
out  the  inward  propriety  of  this  identification.  He  that.  The 
reference  is  not  primarily  to  Christ,  but  is  general;  whoever.  His 
rest.  I.e.,  God's  rest.  Those  who  enter  into  God's  rest  do  so  after 
a  certain  creative  activity,  not  wholly  unlike  that  of  God  himself, 
and  thus  their  rest  is  properly  such  a  sabbath  rest  as  God  himself 
enjoys.  While  the  writer's  argument  seems  at  some  points  curious 
and  fanciful,  he  is  here  shaping  the  sublime  thought  that  God's 
ideal  for  man's  destiny  far  transcends  all  feeble  human  settings  forth. 

11.  The  writer  turns  from  his  argument  to  exhort  his  readers  to 
profit  by  its  lessons.  The  constant  practical  purpose  underlying  the 
epistle  again  shows  itself.  Therefore.  In  view  of  the  considerations 
advanced  in  vss.  2-10.  Give  diligence.  Be  stre?tuous,  exert  our- 
selves.    Into  that  rest.     The  writer  has  shown  that  it  is  available 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  4  :  12 

that  rest,  that  °no  man  fall  ^  after  °the  same  example 
of  disobedience.  °For  °the  word  of  God  is  °living, 
and  active,  and  °sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword, 
and  piercing  even  to  the  dividing  of  °soul  and  spirit,  of 
both  °joints  and   marrow,  and  °quick  to   discern  the 

'  Or,  into     Gr.  in. 


for  the  people  of  God  and  that  believers  do  enter  it,  4:3,  9.  The 
great  salvation  (2:3)  has  been  described  as  dominion  over  the  world, 
2:5-8,  as  deliverance  from  death,  2:  14,  15,  and  now  as  participa- 
tion in  the  sabbath  rest  of  God,  3:7-4:10.  No  man.  This 
individual  feeling  characterizes  many  of  the  writer's  w^arnings,  of. 
3:12;  4:1.  The  same  example  of  disobedience.  Following 
his  general  plan  of  finding  types  of  Christian  experience  in  Hebrew 
history,  the  author  urges  that  the  readers,  who,  like  the  Israelites, 
have  heard  a  gospel,  and  set  out  for  a  better  country,  must  be  on  their 
guard,  lest,  like  them,  they  glide  into  unbelief  and  disobedience,  and 
finally  forfeit  the  promised  rest  and  incur  the  wrath  of  God.  The 
sin  of  the  Israelites  is  described  as  disobedience  here  as  in  3:  18 
and  4:6.  It  is  implied  that  the  temptation  of  the  readers  of  the 
epistle  is  substantially  identical  with  that  of  the  Israelites,  viz.,  to 
refuse  to  recognize  God's  voice  and  hand  in  the  world  about  them 
and  in  their  own  experience. 

12.  For.  The  following  vss.  enforce  the  exhortation  just  given. 
The  impossibility  of  deceiving  or  escaping  the  word  of  God  is  first 
emphasized.  The  word  of  God.  Not  in  a  personal  sense,  i.e., 
Christ,  but  in  the  comprehensive  sense  of  all  God's  expression  of 
himself  to  men,  in  scripture,  in  experience,  in  Christ,  and  in  direct 
spiritual  appeal.  The  word  of  God  which  the  readers  hear  and 
must  heed  is  especially  meant.  Living,  and  active.  This  revela- 
tion principle,  here  almost  personified,  is  described  as  living  and 
vigorously  operative;  it  is  not  dead  or  inert.  Sharper.  Sharpness 
is  predicated  of  the  divine  word  or  Logos  by  Philo,  but  in  a  different 
sense,  that  of  cutting  or  carving  the  universe  out  of  chaos,  in  creation, 
and  of  dividing  material  from  immaterial,  etc.  Of  soul  and  Spirit. 
Not  of  soul  from  spirit,  but  capable  of  severing  both.  By  soul  and 
spirit  the  whole  mental  being  of  man  is  meant.  Of  joints  and 
marrow.  The  piercing  word  is  irresistible;  nothing  can  resist  it  or 
turn  it  aside;  it  shears  through  soul  and  spirit,  as  the  keen  sword 
through  flesh  and  bone.  The  figurative  is  in  this  description  blended 
v/ith  the  actual,  yet  in  such  a  way  as  to  heighten  the  effect.  Quick 
to  discern.     Rather,  critical,  discriminative,  jiidge  of.    Thoughts 

51 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

13.  ^thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart.  And  °there  is  no 
creature  that  is  not  manifest  in  his  sight :  but  all  things 
are  naked  and  °laid  open  before  °the  eyes  °of  him 
with  whom  °we  have  to  do. 

and  intents.     Considerations  and  conceptions  of  the  heart;    others, 
the  impulses  {motives)  and  reflections. 

13.  The  word  has  been  described  as  vital,  vigorous  and  searching; 
its  resistless  universal  survey  is  now  set  forth.  There  is  no  creature. 
Not  a  creature  is  unseen  by  the  word,  which  having  been  spoken  of 
as  capable  of  judging,  is  now  personified.  Yet  some  would  under- 
stand that  God  is  meant  throughout  the  verse.  Laid  open.  Or, 
laid  hare,  i.e.,  at  his  mercy.  The  idea  of  defencelessness  attaches  to 
this  word,  which  seems  to  come  from  the  wrestling  school.  The 
eyes.  Fresh  emphasis  upon  the  all-beholding  vision  of  the  word. 
Of  him.  I.e.,  probably,  of  the  word,  although  some  would  under- 
stand the  eyes  of  God  to  be  meant.  We  have  to  do.  Gk.,  we  have 
the  account,  reckoning,  i.e.,  we  have  to  reckon.  The  two  verses  present 
an  overwhelming  reenforcement  of  the  warning  not  to  fall  into  Israel's 
disobedience. 


52 


III.   Christ  above  Aaron  and  all  Earthly  High 
Priests,  the  Final,  Eternal,  Sinless,  Oath- 
attested  High  Priest  after  the 
Order  of  Melchizedek, 
4: 14-7:28 

I.   Exhortation    {serving   as    transition    and   introduction) , 
to  hold  fast  and  to  approach  God  with  boldness, 
conscious  of  the  presence  with  him  of  a  sym- 
pathetic and  potent  high  priest, 
4: 14-16 

14.  ^Having  °then  a  °great  high  priest,  who  hath  ^passed 
through  the  heavens,  Jesus  °the  Son  of  God,  let  us 

15.  °hold   fast    °our   confession.     °For   °we    have    not    a 
high  priest  that  °cannot  be  touched  with  the  feeUng 

14.  Having.  I.e.,  since  we  have.  Then.  Or,  tJurefore.  The 
fearful  thought  of  responsibility  to  the  all-seeing  word  gives  way 
to  the  more  hopeful  and  reassuring  reference  to  the  great  high  priest. 
The  rigorous  and  resistless  word  inspires  fear;  the  great  high  priest, 
hope  and  love.  The  writer  returns  to  a  conception  of  Jesus  already 
twice  mentioned,  2:  17;  3:1,  but  as  yet  undeveloped  in  the  epistle. 
Great  distinguishes  this  high  priest  from  ordinary  holders  of  that 
office.  Passed  through  the  heavens.  And  so  entered  the  very 
presence  of  God,  as  the  earthly  high  priest  passed  through  the  veil. 
Jesus'  passage  through  the  heavens  shows  his  incomparable  supe- 
riority to  these  Jewish  high  priests.  The  Son  of  God.  A  title  of 
dignity  already  dwelt  upon  by  the  writer  in  contrasting  Jesus  with 
Moses  and  the  angels,  i:  1-3:  6.  Hold  fast.  The  writer  loses  no 
opportunity  to  enforce  practically  the  lesson  of  steadfastness  and 
faith  to  which  all  his  argument  is  directed.  Our  confession.  I.e., 
that  which  we  profess. 

15.  For.  Introducing  a  ground  for  this  holding  fast.  We 
have  not.  The  writer  sets  out  boldly  to  meet  possible  objections, 
that  Christ,  as  without  sin,  or  as  sublime  Son  of  God,  can  have  no 
real   sympathy  with   frail,   struggling  men.     Cannot  be   touched, 

S3 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

of  our  infirmities ;  but  one  that  hath  been  in  all  points 
1 6.  °tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  °without  sin.  Let  us 
therefore  °draw  near  with  ^boldness  unto  the  °throne 
of  grace,  that  we  may  "receive  mercy,  and  may  °find 
grace  to  help  us  in  time  of  need. 

2.   Christ  a    true   High  Priest  by   his  divine  appointment 
and  his  human  experience,  5  :  i-io. 

5.  °For  every  high  priest,  °being  taken  from  among  men, 
is  appointed  for  men  in  things  pertaining  to  God,  that 

2.  he  may  offer  both  gifts  and  sacrifices  for  sins:  °who 
can  °bear  gently  with  the  °ignorant  and  erring,  °for  that 

etc.  Better,  cannot  have  sympathy  with  our  weaknesses.  Tempted 
like  as  we  are.  I.e.,  tried  in  like  manner.  Jesus'  full  experience 
of  human  trial  qualifies  him  to  sympathize  with  his  brethren.  With- 
out sin.  His  perfect  withstanding  of  the  test  accredits  him  as  the 
perfect  high  priest. 

16.  A  new  exhortation,  based  upon  the  character  and  experience 
of  the  great  high  priest  and  our  relation  to  him.  Draw  near.  I.e., 
in  w^orship  and  petition.  Boldness.  Confidence,  possible  through 
the  presence  of  the  great  high  priest.  Throne  of  grace.  God  is 
thus  indirectly  described,  with  especial  emphasis  upon  his  sublime 
dignity  (the  throne)  and  his  benign  purpose  (of  grace).  Receive 
mercy.  I.e.,  in  forgiveness  and  restoration.  Find  grace.  Spirit- 
ual strength  and  encouragement  for  further  tasks  are  secured  in  the 
consciousness  of  God's  gracious  favor. 

1.  For.  This  sympathetic,  representative  quality  possessed  by 
Jesus  is  necessary  to  the  high  priestly  function.  Being  taken. 
Better,  is  taken  from  among  men  and  is  appointed.  The  high  priest 
is  in  a  twofold  sense  representative  of  the  men  for  whom  he  minis- 
ters. The  tone  of  this  whole  passage  strongly  suggests  that  it  is 
addressed  to  persons  with  little  acquaintance  with  high  priests  and 
their  duties,  and  thus  accords  well  with  the  Roman  destination  of 
the  epistle.  The  model  high  priest  is  at  once  man  himself  and  he 
is  appointed  in  men's  behalf.  He  does  not  appoint  himself;  he  is 
taken  and  is  appointed.  The  writer  leaves  room  for  the  divine  call, 
which  is  the  controlling  thought  in  this  passage. 

2.  Who  can.  Better,  and  he  can.  Bear  gently  with.  Or, 
feel  gently  or  leniently  towards.    Ignorant  and  erring.    For  such 

54 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  5  :  5 

3.  he  himself  also  is  °compassed  with  infirmity;  and  °by 
reason  thereof  is  bound,  as  for  the  people,  so  also  for 

4.  himself,  to  offer  for  sins.  And  °no  man  taketh  the 
honour  unto  himself,  but  when  he  is  called  of  God, 

5.  even  °as  was  Aaron.  So  °Christ  also  ^glorified  not 
himself  °to  be  made  a  high  priest,  but  °he  that  spake 
unto  him. 

Thou  art  my  Son,  Ps.  2:7 

This  day  have  I  begotten  thee: 

only,  and  not  for  wilful  sinners,  does  the  high  priest  make  atonement. 
This  Old  Testament  idea  seems  to  have  had  strong  influence  upon 
the  writer.  For  that.  The  high  priest's  capacity  for  leniency  is 
due  to  his  own  consciousness  of  frailty.  Compassed  with  infirmity. 
A  bold  figurative  expression,  enveloped  with  weakness. 

3.  By  reason  thereof.  Better,  because  of  it,  i.e.,  the  infirmity. 
It  is  the  high  priest's  own  weakness  that  leads  to  his  offering 
for  himself  as  well  as  for  the  people  for  whom  he  ministers.  Cf. 
Lev.   16  :  11-14. 

4.  No  man  taketh.  The  call  of  God  is  necessary  to  make  a  man 
high  priest,  as  already  implied  in  the  passive  verbs  used  in  vs.  i.  As 
was  Aaron.  Ex.  28  :  i;  Num.  18  :  i.  The  case  of  Aaron  is  cited 
in  illustration  of  the  principle  just  stated.  The  writer  here  develops 
the  second  and  more  important  thought  of  the  paragraph,  the  divine 
call  to  the  high  priesthood.  In  all  these  references  to  the  high  priestly 
oflice  it  is  clear  that  there  is  no  thought  of  the  hard  and  ambitious 
men  who  in  the  first  century  held  that  office  in  Jerusalem;  the  writer's 
interest  is  rather  in  the  ideal  of  the  ofifice  as  set  forth  in  the  Law. 
His  indifference  to  later,  almost  contemporary,  Judaism  is  shown 
in  his  noble  picture  of  the  ideal  high  priest,  so  different  from  the  high 
priests  of  the  last  years  of  the  temple  service.  Cf.  Josephus,  Antt. 
15  :  2,  3;    20:  8,  9. 

5.  Christ.  Better,  the  Christ.  Glorified  not  himself.  He 
did  not  arrogate  the  office  to  himself,  or  seek  it.  To  be  made.  The 
infinitive  here  "  defines  more  closely  the  content  of  the  action  of 
the  previous  verb"  (Burton).  He  that  spake  unto  him.  Sc., 
did  so  glorify  him.  Without  naming  God  as  calling  him  to  be  high 
priest,  the  writer  designates  him  as  the  speaker  of  Ps.  2  :  7,  already 
quoted  in  i  :  5.  That  acknowledgment  of  the  Messianic  Son  is  now 
made  to  preface  the  acknowledgment  of  the  Messianic  priest,  quoted 
from  Ps.  no,  from  which  the  words  Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand  have 
been  already  quoted,  i  :  13;    cf.  i  :  3. 

55 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

6.  as  he  saith  also  in  another  place. 

Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever 
After  the  order  of  Melchizedek. 

7.  °Who  in  °the  days  of  his  flesh,  having  offered  up  Spray- 
ers and  supplications  with  strong  crying  and  tears 
unto  him  that  was  able  °to  save   him  ^from    death, 

8.  and  °having  been  heard  for  his  godly  fear,  °though  he 
was  a  Son,  yet  °learned  obedience  by  the  things  which 

9.  he  suffered;  and  having  been  °made  perfect,  he  be- 
came unto  all  them  that  °obey  him  °the  ^author  of 

'  Or,  out  of      '  Gr.  caicse. 


6.  This  Messianic  oracle  supplies  the  text  for  the  central  portion 
of  the  epistle,  the  eternal  Melchizedek  priesthood  of  Christ.  As 
used  in  the  Old  Testament  it  forms  part  of  an  address  to  the  Messianic 
king,  the  language  of  which  has  already  been  freely  applied  by  the 
writer  to  Christ. 

7.  Who.  Better,  and  he,  i.e.,  Christ.  The  days  of  his  flesh. 
I.e.,  his  life  upon  earth.  Prayers  and  supplications,  with  strong 
crying  and  tears.  The  agony  in  Gethsemane  is  before  the  writer's 
mind.  The  tears  are  not  mentioned  in  the  gospel  accounts  of  that 
event.  To  save  him  from  death.  Cf.  Mk.  14  :  36,  Remoz'e  this 
cup  from  me.  Having  been  heard.  It  is  implied  that  his  prayer 
was  in  some  real  sense  answered;  perhaps  in  the  resurrection  from 
the  dead. 

8.  Though  he  was  a  Son.  That  is,  already  a  loyal  and  obe- 
dient Son.  Learned  obedience.  Came  into  further  and  deeper 
experience  of  obedience  through  the  increasing  difficulty  of  obeying, 
as  his  prescribed  tasks  grew  more  and  more  difficult.  The  high 
priesthood  to  w^hich  he  was  appointed,  so  far  from  being  an  office 
to  be  coveted,  was  one  entered  upon  only  through  an  arduous  dis- 
cipline of  suffering,  which  taxed  even  Christ's  filial  obedience.  The 
fact  that  Christ  was  called  of  God  to  the  office  is  thus  thrown  into 
high  relief. 

9.  Made  perfect.  That  is,  through  this  discipline  of  suffering,  as 
in  a  similar  connection  in  2  :  10.  Obey  him.  Through  his  own 
unflagging  obedience  to  God's  call  to  this  priestly  service,  Jesus  is 
entitled  to  the  obedience  of  his  followers.  The  author.  Lit.,  cause. 
Eternal  salvation.  An  expression  found  in  Isa.  45  :  17.  The 
thought  here  is  quite  in  line  with  that  of  2  :  10. 

56 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  5  :  12 

10.  °eternal    salvation ;    °named   °of    God    a    high    priest  isa.  45 :  17 
°after  the  order  of  Melchizedek.  ps.  ho  :  4 

3.   Complaint  and  Rebuke  of  the  Readers^   Backwardness 

coupled  with  Warning  and  Encouragement^ 

5  :  1 1-6  :  20. 

11.  °Of  ^whom  we  have  °many  things  to  say,  and  hard 
of   ^interpretation,    °seeing   ye    °are    become    dull    of 

12.  °hearing.     For  °when  °by  reason  of  the  time  ye  ought 
to  be  °teachers,  ye  have  need  again  ^  that  some  one 

'  Or,  which      '  Or,  that  one  teach  you  which  be  the  rudiments 

10.  Named.  Or,  since  he  is  saluted.  Of  God.  The  emphasis 
continues  to  rest  upon  the  fact  that  Jesus  was  called  by  God  to  the 
high  priestly  task.  After  the  order  of  Melchizedek.  And  hence 
qualified  to  provide  enduring,  eternal  salvation,  whereas  the  high 
priest  after  Aaron's  order  could  make  only  a  temporary  atonement, 
which  had  to  be  oft-repeated.  The  Christ  has  been  said  in  the  psalm 
to  be  priest  forever,  after  Melchizedek's  order.  He  who  is  priest 
forever  brings  eternal  salvation. 

The  spiritual  immaturity  and  sluggishness  of  the  readers,  5:  11-6:3. 

11.  Of  whom.  Better,  and  about  him,  i.e.,  Christ,  as  Melchize- 
dek priest,  or  Melchizedek  as  a  type  of  Christ.  Many  things  to 
say.  More  exactly,  what  we  have  to  say  is  considerable.  Interpre- 
tation; here  rather  expression.  What  the  writer  has  to  say  is  hard 
to  express  intelligibly  to  the  readers.  Seeing.  Rather,  Since. 
Are  become.  The  writer  speaks  of  them  as  in  their  second  child- 
hood, their  dotage  (Bruce).  These  are  not  simply  the  limitations 
of  infancy  and  childhood.  Hearing.  Lit.,  ears.  By  these  reproofs 
the  writer  seeks  to  move  the  readers  to  attend  closely  to  his  exposi- 
tion of  the  priesthood  of  Christ. 

12.  When.  Better,  although.  By  reason  of  the  time.  The 
readers  have  long  since  been  evangelized,  and  a  long  Christian  ex- 
perience already  lies  behind  them.  Teachers.  In  view  of  their 
opportunity  and  experience.  This  rebuke  is  evidently  addressed 
to  a  church  especially  privileged  and  yet  slow  to  come  to  a  realiza- 
tion of  its  duty  to  teach,  —  a  characteristic  impossible  to  harmonize 
with  Jerusalem  as  the  destination  of  the  letter.  Of  the  first  prin- 
ciples.    Lit,,   of  the   beginning.      The  rudiments   of  the   beginning 

57 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

teach  you  the  rudiments  °of  the  ^  first  principles  of 
°the  oracles  of  God;    and  are  °become  such  as  have 

13.  need  °of  milk,  °and  not  of  °solid  food.  For  every  one 
that  partaketh  of  milk  is  °^  without  experience  of   °the 

14.  word  of  righteousness;  for  he  is  a  °babe.  But  solid 
food  is  for  ^  full-grown  men,  even  those  who  by  reason 
of  use  have  their  senses  °exercised  to  discern  good 
and  evil. 

6.         °Wherefore  ^  let  us  °^  cease  to  speak  of  the  first  princi- 


^  Gr.  beginning.  *  SVm  inexperienced  in.  ^  Or,  perfect  ♦  SV  leaving  the  doc- 
trine of  the  first  principles  of  Christ,  let  us  s  Gr.  leave  the  word  of  the  beginning  of 
Christ. 


means  the  hegmning-rudiments,  i.e.,  the  first  principles.  The  usual 
rendering  is  pleonastic.  The  oracles  of  God.  Ordinarily  equiva- 
lent to  the  Old  Testament  scriptures,  but  here  probably  to  be  taken 
in  the  sense  of  elementary  Christian  instruction.  That  the  failure 
of  the  readers  lies  here  is  further  shown  by  6:1.  Become  such  as 
have  need.  Better,  come  to  require.  Of  milk.  The  food  of  in- 
fants, representative  of  their  spiritual  and  intellectual  immaturity. 
Cf.  I  Cor.  3  :  2.  The  writer  has  spoken  of  them  above  as  in  their 
second  childhood;  here  they  appear  as  infants  in  good  earnest. 
And.  Not  part  of  the  text,  and  so  to  be  omitted.  Solid  food. 
Such  as  the  writer  desires  to  give  them.  The  readers  are  taxed  with 
having  no  stomach  for  lofty,  exacting  Christian  thought,  having 
habituated  themselves  to  the  simplest,  easiest  notions  only. 

13,  Without  experience.  The  taking  of  milk  marks  one  as  a 
babe,  and  so  of  course  inexperienced.  The  word  of  righteousness. 
A  general  expression,  discourse  on  righteousness,  but  with  especial 
reference  to  Christian  teaching.  Babe.  Not,  as  in  Jesus'  teaching, 
a  synonym  for  simplicity  and  receptiveness,  but  as  in  Paul,  for  igno- 
rance and  inexperience. 

14.  This  picture  of  experienced  and  discriminating  maturity 
is  designed  to  rouse  the  readers  to  throw  off  their  infantile  habit  of 
mind  and  rise  into  the  thought  and  stature  of  Christian  manhood. 
Exercised  to  discern.  Cf.  the  reproof  given  the  disciples  by  Jesus, 
for  their  unreadiness  to  practise  discernment  in  the  matter  of  cere- 
monial cleanness,  Mk.  7  :  18. 

I.  Wherefore.  I.e.,  since  it  is  high  time  the  readers  were  having 
the  solid  food,  for  which  they  are  old  enough,  and  for  which  they 
must  show  themselves  mature  enough.     Cease.     Better,  leave  alone. 

58 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

pies  of  °Christ,  and  °press  on  unto  ^perfection;  not  lay- 
ing again  °a  foundation  of  repentance  from  dead  works, 

2.  and  of  faith  toward  God,  ^  of  the  teaching  of  °^  baptisms, 
and  of  laying  on  of  hands,  and  of  °resurrection  of  the 

3.  dead,  and  of  eternal  judgment.     And  °this  will  we  do, 

4.  °if  God  permit.     °For  as  touching  those  who  were  once 


'  Or,  full   growth  »  Some   ancient    authorities   read,  even   the    teaching  of. 

Or,   washings 


In  spite  of  the  unfortunate  immaturity  of  his  readers,  the  writer 
decUnes  to  take  up  with  them  the  mere  elements  of  Christian  faith. 
Christ.  Better,  the  Christ.  Press  on  unto  perfection.  Rather, 
move  on  toward  maturity,  i.e.,  such  discourse  as  becomes  the  full- 
grown.  A  foundation;  the  writer  shows  what  he  means  by  the 
rudiments  of  Christian  teaching,  in  the  three  groups  that  follow : 
repentance  and  faith,  baptism  and  laying  on  of  hands,  resurrection 
and  judgment.  Dead  works  can  hardly  refer  to  former  obedience 
to  Jewish  law,  but  rather  suggests  former  wrong  doing,  now  repented 
of.  Repentance  and  faith  are  often  placed  together  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment as  the  basis  of  Christian  life;   cf.  Mk.  1:15,  etc. 

2.  Baptisms,  .  .  .  laying  on  of  hands.  The  natural  sequels  of 
repentance  and  faith,  since  in  baptism  the  convert  made  profession 
of  his  faith,  and  through  the  laying  on  of  hands  received  the  gift  of 
the  Spirit.  Cf.  Acts  2:38;  8:12,  17,  etc.  Resurrection  .  .  . 
judgment.  The  believer's  outlook,  under  which  he  was  to  live  (Da- 
vidson). These  elements  constituted  the  subject  of  the  evangelistic 
as  distinct  from  the  edifying  preaching.  The  outline  comports  alto- 
gether better  with  Gentile  than  with  Jewish  recipients. 

3.  This  will  we  do.  The  writer  is  in  these  three  verses  primarily 
stating  his  own  present  intention  of  proceeding  with  a  difficult  teach- 
ing, despite  their  unreadiness  for  it;  but  his  underlying  purpose  is 
to  stimulate  his  readers  to  attend  and  accept  it.  If  God  permit. 
Taken  in  connection  with  what  follows,  these  words  suggest  the 
writer's  apprehensiveness  that  possibly  for  some  of  his  readers  his 
admonition  may  already  be  too  late;  they  may  have  fallen  away,  vs. 
6,  or  at  least  grown  so  dull  and  senile  as  to  be  incapable  of  being 
roused  to  Christian  manhood.  The  words  give  a  touch  of  added 
solemnity  to  the  warning  that  follows. 

The  fearful  consequences  of  apostasy,  6:4-8. 

4.  For.  In  explanation  of  the  apprehension  suggested  in  the 
last  words;  or,  as  others  hold,  of  the  writer's  intention  to  neglect 
mere  foundation  matters,  since  any  who  had  given  them  up  would 

59 


6  :  5  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

^enlightened  ^  and  °tasted  of  °the  heavenly  gift,  and  °were 

5.  made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  ^  tasted  °the 
good  word  of  God,  and  the  °powers  of  the  age  to  come, 

6.  and  then  °fell  away,  it  is  °impossible  to  renew  them  again 
unto  repentance ;  °^  seeing  they  crucify  to  themselves  the 
Son  of   God  afresh,  and  put   him   to   an   open   shame. 

Gen.  1 :  11,      7.    For  the  land  which  hath  drunk  the  rain  that  cometh  oft 

upon  it,  and  bringeth  forth  herbs  meet  for  them  for  whose 

8.    sake  it  is  also  tilled,  receiveth  blessing  from  God :  but  if 

'  Or,  having  both  tasted  of  .  .  .  and  being  made  .  .  .  and  having  tasted  etc.  '  Or, 
tasted  tfie  word  of  God  that  it  is  good     ^  Or,  the  while 

be  indifferent  to  a  new  presentation  of  them.  Enlightened.  Re- 
ceived illumination;  often  used  of  the  initial  Christian  experience ; 
cf.  John  1:9;  Eph.  1:18;  and  Heb.  10:32.  Justin  Martyr,  ca. 
150  A.D.,  connects  it  with  baptism,  Apol.  61,  which  he  calls  illumi- 
nation. Tasted  of.  Better,  tasted.  The  heavenly  gift.  Forgive- 
ness of  sins,  or,  possibly,  the  gift  of  the  Spirit,  like  the  following. 
Were  made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  I.e.,  had  received  the 
Spirit.  The  emphasis  is  here  upon  the  initial  experiences  of  the 
Christian,  the  learning  of  the  first  principles  of  Christ. 

5.  The  good  word  of  God.  The  gospel,  or  perhaps  the  promises 
in  general.  Powers  of  the  age  to  come.  The  mighty  works  every- 
where represented  as  attending  the  early  acceptance  of  the  gospel  are 
probably  meant.  These  are  viewed  as  a  foretaste  of  the  state  of 
things  to  be  enjoyed  in  the  coming  Messianic  Age. 

6.  Fell  away.  A  reference  to  persons  belonging  to  the  church 
addressed  who  have  actually  apostatized  is  very  probable  here.  The 
description  of  these  lapsed  persons  strongly  suggests  a  time  of  perse- 
cution, such  as  that  under  Nero  or  Domitian.  Impossible  to  renew 
them.  The  warning  against  apostasy  is  put  in  the  sternest,  most 
uncompromising  form.  If,  after  all  the  blessed  and  delightful  expe- 
riences of  Christian  faith,  men  fall  away,  their  case  is  hopeless,  and 
it  is  vain  to  pursue  them  with  the  old  preaching  of  first  principles. 
Seeing  they  crucify  .  .  .  afresh.  That  is,  their  renewal  is  impos- 
sible because  they  practically  recrucify  Jesus,  and  hold  him  up  to 
ridicule  and  disgrace.  Apostasy  implies  practical  assent  to  the  rejec- 
tion and  murder  of  Jesus. 

7.  8.  This  dreadful  sentence  upon  the  lapsed  is  supported  by  an 
analogy  from  nature  presented  in  a  little  parable.  Well-watered 
land  which  is  fruitful  is  blessed,  but  well-watered  land  which  pro- 

60 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  6  :  lo 

it  beareth  thorns  and  thistles,  it  is  rejected  and  nigh   Gen.  3 :  17, 
unto  a  curse ;   Vhose  end  is  to  be  burned.  ^^ 

°But,  °beloved,  we  are  persuaded  °better  things 
of  you,  and  things  that  °^  accompany  salvation,  °though 
we  thus  speak :  °for  God  is  °not  unrighteous  °to  forget 
°your  work  and  the  love  which  ye  shewed  °toward 
his  name,  in  that  ye  ^ministered  unto  the  saints,  and 


^  Or,  are  near  to:    SVm  belong  to 


duces  only  thorns  and  thistles  is  cursed  and  fit  only  to  be  burned 
over.  Whose  end.  Better,  and  its  end.  While  the  parable  is  left 
uninterpreted,  its  application  is  plain. 

Encouragement  in  view  of  the  readers'  good  works  and  God's  oath- 
attested  promises,  6  :  9-20. 

9,  But.  The  tone  changes  to  mildness  and  commendation,  and 
a  more  hopeful  view  of  the  readers'  condition  is  taken.  The  writer 
will  not  believe  that  any  of  them  are  near  the  apostasy  he  has  so 
terribly  depicted.  Beloved.  Used  in  this  place  only  in  the  epistle, 
as  though  in  reaction  from  the  preceding  rebuke  and  menace.  Bet- 
ter things.  Than  the  barrenness  and  apostasy  just  described.  Ac- 
company. Better,  belong  to.  Though  we  thus  speak.  The  writer 
feels  that  in  his  anxiety  to  warn  the  readers  most  efi'ectively,  he  has 
gone  further  than  he  intended,  and  than  their  condition  justified.  He 
adopts  therefore  a  conciliatory,  almost  apologetic  tone. 

10.  For.  He  is  encouraged  to  this  belief  by  the  recollection  of 
their  Christian  helpfulness  and  love,  still  displayed  as  of  old.  Not 
unrighteous,  A  strong  way  of  declaring  God's  satisfaction  in  such 
work.  To  forget.  Their  service  of  love  is  such  as  God  delights 
to  remember,  and  evidences  their  salvation.  Your  v/ork.  Spiritu- 
ally immature  as  the  readers  are,  they  have  known  hard  and  faith- 
ful Christian  service.  Tov/ard  his  name.  I.e.,  toward  those  who 
bear  his  name.  Ministered  unto  the  saints.  This  recalls  Paul's 
interest  in  collections  for  the  poor  saints  in  Jerusalem  (2  Cor.  8  :  4, 
etc.),  and  sufficiently  distinguishes  the  readers  from  any  Palestinian 
congregation.  The  service  here  commended  is  probably  a  larger 
work,  of  Christian  helpfulness  to  brethren  in  poverty,  sickness,  prison, 
or  slavery,  in  their  own  district  or  beyond  it.  The  readers  have  an 
enviable  record  in  this  regard.  No  church  of  the  first  century  had 
greater  opportunity  for  such  service  than  the  Roman  church,  or 
responded  more  nobly  to  it.     Cf.  Acts  28  :  15. 

61 


6  :  II  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

11.  still  do  minister.  And  we  desire  that  each  one  of 
you  may  shew  °the  same  diligence  °unto  the  ^  fulness 

12.  of  hope  °even  to  the  end:  that  ye  be  not  °sluggish,  but 
°imitators  of  them  who  through  °faith  and  °patience 
°inherit  °the  promises. 

13.  °For  when  God  °made  promise  to  Abraham,  since 
he  could  swear  by  none  greater,  °he  sware  °by  him- 

Gen.  22 :  17   14.   self,   saying.   Surely  °blessing  I  will  bless  thee,  and 

'  Or,  full  assurance 

1 1 .  The  same  diligence :  as  was  shown  in  their  work  and  love.  Unto 
the  fulness  of  hope.  I.e.,  to  keep  their  hope  of  the  coming  Messi- 
anic kingdom  (Rom.  13  :  11)  strong  and  confident.  Even  to  the 
end.  Here  appears  again  the  writer's  underlying  fear  that  they  may 
tire  out  and  give  up  the  Christian  struggle  before  the  return  of  Christ. 

12.  Sluggish,  It  is  the  inner  spirit  of  hope  and  faith  that  the 
writer  is  seeking  to  quicken.  Imitators  of  them  who  through 
faith.  Cf.  13  :  7,  Imitate  their  faith.  A  notable  list  of  such  heroes 
is  given  in  ch.  11,  and  a  conspicuous  pattern  of  such  faith,  Abraham,  is 
presented  in  the  next  verse.  Faith.  Not,  as  in  6  :  i,  that  early  faith 
which  introduces  one  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  but  that  attitude  of 
trust  and  dependence  which  enables  one  to  live  in  the  present  enjoy- 
ment of  the  heavenly  world.  In  Hebrews  "  Faith  denotes  a  faculty 
of  the  human  mind  whereby  it  can  make  the  future  as  if  it  were  pres- 
ent, and  the  unseen  as  if  it  were  visible  "  (Bruce).  Patience.  I.e., 
in  awaiting  the  fulfilment  of  the  divine  promises.  Inherit  the 
promises.  This  expression  has  two  forces :  to  witness  and  enjoy  the 
ultimate  actual  fulfilment  of  a  promise,  and  to  have  such  participation 
in  constant  and  certain  prospect.  The  latter  is  the  sense  here,  and 
who  .  .  .  inherit  the  promises  may  be  rendered,  who  are  heirs  of  the 
promises.  The  promises.  Those  of  the  Old  Testament,  as  summed 
up  in  the  salvation  wrought  by  Christ  and  now  on  its  way  to  full 
accomplishment. 

13.  For.  In  support  of  the  exhortation  to  hope,  vs.  11,  God's 
convincing  endorsement  of  the  promises  is  recalled.  Made  promise 
to  Abraham.  This  great  leading  promise  to  Abraham  is  taken  as 
representative  of  God's  attitude  toward  the  promises  in  general.  He 
sware.  This  attestation  of  the  promises  by  oath  should  encourage 
hope  in  them.  By  himself.  Cf.  Gen.  22  :  16,  By  myself  have  I 
sworn,  saith  Jehovah. 

14.  Blessing  I  will  bless.     A  Hebraism  meaning  I  will  greatly 

62 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  6  :  i8 

15.  ^multiplying  I  will  multiply  thee.     And  thus,  °having 

16.  patiently  endured,  he  °obtained  the  promise.  °For 
men  swear  by  the  greater:    and  in  every  dispute  of 

17.  theirs  °the  oath  is  final  for  confirmation.  ° Wherein 
God,  °being  minded  to  shew  more  abundantly  unto 
the   heirs   of    the    promise    the  °immutability   of    his 

18.  °counsel,  °Mnterposed  with  an  oath:  that  °by  two 
immutable  things,  in  which  it  is  impossible  for  God 
to  lie,  °we  may  have  a  strong  encouragement,  °who 
have  fled    for  refuge  °to  lay    hold  of    the   hope    set 

'  Gr.  mediated. 


bless.  Multiplying,  etc.  Or,  I  will  greatly  multiply.  The  promise 
made  to  Abraham  after  his  supreme  exhibition  of  faith  in  the  offer- 
ing of  Isaac. 

15.  Having  patiently  endured.  It  is  as  a  pattern  of  such  per- 
severance in  faith  that  Abraham  is  introduced  here.  Obtained  the 
promise.  Abraham,  after  a  life  of  faith,  actually  witnessed  the  be- 
ginning of  the  fulfilment  of  this  promise,  in  the  birth  of  his  grand- 
sons Jacob  and  Esau.     Gen.  21  :  5;    25  :  7,  26. 

16.  For.  In  explanation  of  vs.  13,  He  could  swear  by  none  greater. 
The  oath  is  final.  The  oath  puts  the  statement  it  confirms  beyond 
dispute. 

17.  Wherein.  Rather,  Therefore.  Being  minded.  Wishing, 
desiring.  Immutability.  Unalterableness.  Counsel.  Purpose,  de- 
sign of  salvation.  Interposed.  Came  between  himself  and  Abra- 
ham, as  it  were,  in  his  condescension  swearing,  like  a  mere  man,  by 
himself,  as  God.  It  is  God's  condescension  that  is  here  emphasized, 
as  a  moral  argument  for  faith  in  his  promises.  If  he  has  thus  conde- 
scended in  attesting  his  promises,  how  certain  we  may  be  of  their 
fulfilment. 

18.  By  two  immutable  things.  God's  promise  and  his  oath. 
God's  moral  nature  guarantees  his  promise  as  unchangeable.  His 
condescension  in  deigning  to  attest  his  promise  with  his  oath  makes 
his  word  no  surer,  but  does  add  to  the  grounds  of  faith  by  showing 
God's  deep  and  exceeding  interest  in  his  promise  and  its  acceptance, 
since  he  has  been  pleased  to  go  to  the  length  of  swearing  to  it.^  We 
may  have  a  strong  encouragement.  To  be  connected  directly 
with  to  lay  hold  of  the  hope  set  before  us.    The  purpose  of 

63 


6  :  19  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

19.   before  us;    °  which  we  have   as    °an   anchor    of   the 

soul,   a  hope  both   °sure  and  stedfast  and   °entering 

Lev.  16 :  2,    20.   into  that  which  is  within  °the  veil ;  °whither  °as  a  fore- 

"  runner  Jesus  entered  for  us,  having  become  a  high 

Ps.  no  :  4  priest  °for  ever  °after  the  order  of  °Melchizedek. 

this  act  of  condescension  was  to  encourage  faith  in  the  promises. 
Who  have  fled  for  refuge.  Used  absolutely;  We  refugees. 
Christian  believers. 

19.  Which.  Sc.  hope.  An  anchor.  Holding  the  soul  safely 
and  steadily  in  times  of  storm,  as  an  anchor  holds  a  ship  at  its  moor- 
ings. Sure  and  stedfast.  Taken  by  most  interpreters  with  an- 
chor, although  the  connection  with  hope,  as  in  the  text,  is  quite  as 
likely.  Entering.  To  connect  this,  as  most  interpreters  do,  with 
the  anchor  seems  grotesque,  and  hence  the  preceding  adjectives  sure 
and  stedfast  are  probably  to  be  taken  with  hope,  as  in  the  text.  The 
Christian  hope  enters  into  the  place  within  the  veil,  the  Most 
Holy  place,  the  very  presence  of  God,  i.e.,  heaven,  whither  he  went 
after  his  resurrection.  With  this  statement  the  writer  recalls  the 
thought  to  the  sanctuary  and  the  priest  who  ministers  there,  last 
mentioned  in  5  :  10.  The  veil.  The  curtain  which  separated  the 
Most  Holy  place  from  the  Holy  place,  in  the  tabernacle  and  in  the 
temple.  In  the  analogy  the  Holy  place  would  mean  heaven  and  the 
veil  all  that  which   separates  the  spiritual  from  the  sensuous  world. 

20.  Whither.  Into  the  presence  of  God.  As  a  forerunner. 
The  bold  application  of  this  term  to  Jesus  is  a  notable  element  in 
this  epistle,  and  carries  with  it  the  most  important  implications, 
especially  in  connection  with  the  presentation  of  Jesus  as  high  priest, 
since  it  shows  that  he  enters  the  divine  presence  not  as  a  substi- 
tute for  his  brethren,  but  as  their  forerunner.  They  are  themselves 
to  follow  into  that  very  presence.  A  high  priest'.  .  .  after  .  .  . 
Melchizedek.  As  in  5  :  10.  The  writer  now  returns  to  the  argu- 
ment there  interrupted  by  his  complaint  of  the  dulness  and  imma- 
turity of  his  readers.  The  retransition  from  his  digression,  5:11- 
6  :  20,  to  his  argument  is  effected  with  his  usual  skill,  the  mention  of 
the  veil  and  the  high  priest  recalling  the  thought  to  the  last  point 
reached  in  the  argument.  The  remarkable  digression,  in  addition  to 
its  primary  purpose,  has  value  as  relieving  the  course  of  the  argu- 
ment, which  otherwise  might  have  seemed  to  wane  in  interest 
because  of  its  length  and  difficulty.  It  must  be  remembered,  however, 
that  the  epistle  is  written  for  practical  purposes,  and  the  argument 
thus  exists  for  the  admonition,  not  the  admonition  for  the  argument. 
For  ever.  As  in  the  prophecy,  5  :  6.  The  high  priesthood  of 
Christ  is  not  temporary,  like  Aaron's,  but  is  for  all  time. 

64 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  7  :  3 

4.    The  Melchizedek  Priesthood  of  Jesus,  7 :  1-28. 

7.       °For  this  Melchizedek,  king  of  Salem,  priest  of  God  Gen.  14:17- 
Most   High,    who    met   Abraham   returning   from   the  ^° 

2.  slaughter  of  the  kings,  and  blessed  him,  to  whom  also 
Abraham  divided  a  tenth  part  of  all  (being  first,  by 
"interpretation,  °King  of  righteousness,  and  then  also 

3 .  King   of   Salem,   which   is,    °King   of  peace ;    "without   Gen.  14 :  18 
father,    without    mother,    without    genealogy,    having 

The  priestly  dignity  of  Melchizedek,  7  :  i-io. 

1.  For  this  Melchizedek.  The  writer  resumes  at  length  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  Melchizedek  high  priesthood  of  Christ,  which  he  has  al- 
ready touched  upon  in  2:17;  3:1;  4  :  14,  and  entered  upon  in  5  :  i-io. 
These  verses  present  all  that  is  said  of  Melchizedek  in  Genesis,  in 
language  drawn  from  Gen.  14  :  17-20.  The  only  other  Old  Testa- 
ment reference  to  him  is  Ps.  no  :  4,  which  constitutes  the  text  for 
this  whole  discussion.  He  is  not  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament 
except  in  Hebrews,  nor  in  the  Apostolic  Fathers.  Philo,  however, 
says  something  of  him,  and  in  a  way  not  wholly  unlike  that  of  the 
writer.  Thus,  "  God  made  Melchizedek  the  king  of  peace,  that  is, 
of  Salem,  for  that  is  the  interpretation  of  this  name,  his  own  high 
priest,"  etc.,  On  Allegories  of  the  Sacred  Laws,  ch.  25.  See  ap- 
pended Note,  p.  125. 

2.  Interpretation,  I.e.,  translation.  King  of  righteousness. 
So  the  Hebrew  name  may  be  translated.  King  of  peace.  In  seek- 
ing further  to  fill  in  the  vague  outlines  of  the  figure  of  this  ancient 
priest-king,  the  writer  translates  not  only  his  name  but  the  name  of 
his  city,  Salem,  perhaps  Jerusalem  (Ps,  76:2),  but  more  probably  ° 
Saleim  near  Scythopolis  (John  3  :  23),  Salem  may  be  translated 
peaceful.  Cf,  Philo,  "  Melchizedek,  the  king  of  peace  ...  a  just 
king,"  On  Allegories  of  the  Sacred  Laws,  25.  It  is  not  to  Philo,  how- 
ever, but  to  Ps,  1 10  :  4  that  the  writer  is  indebted.  In  translating  these 
names  the  writer  goes  beyond  the  LXX,  which  of  course  simply 
transfers  them  into  Greek  letters.  These  suggestions  of  righteous- 
ness and  peacefulness,  as  well  as  the  royal  dignity  of  Melchizedek, 
cast  a  certain  radiance  about  his  figure  very  much  to  the  writer's  pur- 
pose, 

3.  Without  father.  The  utter  detachment  of  the  figure  of  Mel- 
chizedek, his  ancestry  being  altogether  unknown,  presents  a  contrast 
to  ordinary  hereditary  priesthoods.  The  writer  here  uses  the  silence 
of  the  Old  Testament  as  argument,  as  does  Philo  at  times.     He 

F  65 


7  : 4  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

^neither  beginning  of  days  nor  end  of  life,  but  °made 
Ps.  110:4  like  unto  the  Son  of  God),  abideth  a  priest  continually. 

4.  Now  consider  °how  great  this  man  was,  unto  whom 
Gen.  14  :  20          Abraham,    °the   patriarch,    °gave   a   tenth   out   of   the 

5.  chief  spoils.  And  they  indeed  °of  the  sons  of  Levi 
that  receive  the  priest's  ofl&ce  have  commandment  to 
take  tithes  of  the  people  according  to  the  law,  that  is 
°of  their  brethren,  though  these  have  come  out  of  the 

6.  loins  of  Abraham :  but  he  whose  °genealogy  is  not  counted 
Gen.  14 :  19         from  them  hath  taken  tithes  of  Abraham,  and  hath 

would  have  his  readers  understand  that  here  is  a  priest  of  God,  so 
recognized  by  the  patriarch  Abraham,  who,  as  a  recognition  of  his 
superiority,  paid  him  tithes  out  of  his  spoils,  who  owes  his  priesthood 
not  to  his  descent  but  to  the  worth  of  his  own  personality.  Neither 
beginning  of  days  nor  end  of  life.  As  no  mention  is  made  in  his- 
tory of  the  birth  or  death  of  Melchizedek,  he  appears,  as  far  as  the 
narrative  goes,  as  a  deathless  figure,  a  priest  forever,  as  the  writer 
understands  the  psalmist  to  mean.  Here  again  the  writer  argues 
from  the  silence  of  the  Old  Testament,  but  more  especially  he  is 
under  the  influence  of  the  psalmist,  whose  words  (Ps.  no  :  4)  under- 
lie this  whole  argument.  Made  like  unto  the  Son  of  God.  The 
hints  of  royalty,  peace,  righteousness,  originality,  and  eternity  thus 
attaching  to  the  figure  of  Melchizedek,  combine  to  make  a  figure 
like  to  no  one  but  the  Son  of  God. 

4.  How  great.  The  greatness  of  the  priest -king  Melchizedek  is 
here  dwelt  upon,  particularly  as  compared  with  the  Levitic  priest- 
hood, to  show  the  dignity  and  worth  of  the  non-Aaronic  priestly  order 
to  which  the  psalmist  referred  the  Messiah.  The  patriarch.  Sug- 
gesting the  greatness  and  dignity  of  Abraham,  as  father  of  tribes 
and  a  hero  of  old.  Gave  a  tenth.  Thus  acknowledging  the  supe- 
rior priestly  dignity  of  him  to  whom  he  gave  this  tithe.  The  giving 
of  the  tenth  was  virtual  admission  of  the  priestly  office  of  Melchize- 
dek. 

5.  Of  the  sons  of  Levi.  The  Levitic  priests  who  take  tithes  of 
their  brethren  are  introduced  by  way  of  contrast  with  Melchizedek, 
to  show  the  superior  dignity  of  his  priesthood  and  to  anticipate  the 
possible  objection  that  the  Levitic  was  the  original  regular  divinely 
ordained  priesthood.  Of  their  brethren.  Men  descended,  like 
themselves,  from  Abraham. 

6.  Genealogy  is  not  counted.  Though  unconnected  with  the 
line  of  Aaron,  Melchizedek  received  tithes,  and  from  one  greater  than 

66 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

7.  °blessed   him    that   hath   the    promises.     But  without 

8.  any  dispute  °the  less   is   blessed  of   the  better.     And 
°here  °men    that  die    receive  tithes;     but  °there  one, 

9.  of  whom  it  is  °witnessed  that  he  liveth.       And,  °so 
to  say,  °through  Abraham  even  Levi,  who  receiveth 

10.  tithes,  hath  paid  tithes;    for  he  was  yet   in  the  loins 
of  his  father,  when  Melchizedek  met  him. 

1 1 .  °Now  if  there  was  °perfection  through  the  Levitical 
priesthood  (°for  under  it  hath  the  people  received  the 

the  Levites  themselves,  Abraham,  their  ancestor,  the  friend  of  God, 
the  receiver  of  the  promises,  from  which  all  Israel's  privilege  ulti- 
mately sprang.  This  point  is  important  for  the  argument  as  to  the 
priesthood  of  Jesus,  who  was  not  of  Levitical  descent,  and  might  thus 
be  thought  to  have  no  claim  to  priestly  office.  As  a  Melchizedek 
priest,  however,  he  is  shown  to  belong  to  an  earlier,  nobler  order,  ac- 
knowledged as  true  by  the  great  patriarch  himself.  Blessed  him. 
Abraham,  great  as  he  was,  acknowledged  the  superiority  of  Mel- 
chizedek, not  only  by  paying  him  tithes,  but  by  accepting  his  blessing. 

7.  The  less  is  blessed  of  the  better.  Abraham  therefore  ad- 
mitted inferiority  to  Melchizedek  in  accepting  his  blessing.  The 
greatness  of  Melchizedek  is  thus  established. 

8.  Here.  In  the  case  of  the  Levitical  priesthood.  Men  that 
die.  Mortal  men,  who  die  and  transmit  their  priestly  office  to  others. 
There.  In  the  case  of  Melchizedek.  Witnessed  that  he  liveth. 
Not  expressly  in  scripture,  but  implicitly,  in  the  silence  of  the  Old 
Testament  as  to  his  death.  As  in  vs.  3,  the  silence  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment is  treated  as  prophetically  significant.  Melchizedek's  priest- 
hood is  not  resigned  to  another  but  remains  permanently  his. 

9.  So  to  say.  As  if  in  apology  for  the  suggestion.  Through 
Abraham  even  Levi.  Abraham  is  here  conceived  as  an  embodi- 
ment and  representative  of  his  posterity,  in  a  way  not  unnatural  to 
the  Jewish  mind,  especially  with  the  imaginative  and  poetic  bent 
of  the  writer.  The  argument  exhibits  the  Melchizedek  priesthood 
as  superior  to  the  Aaronic  in  originality,  in  dignity,  and  in  enduring 
quality. 

The  Messianic  Priesthood  of  Melchizedek's  order,  proclaimed  by  the 
Psalmist,  is  realized  in  Jesus,  and  altogether  excels  the  Aaronic 
Priesthood,  superseding  the  Old  Law  and  the  Old  Covenant,  7  :  11-25. 

II.  Now  if.  Continuing  the  argument  by  suggesting  a  condition 
contrary  to  fact.  Perfection.  In  the  sense  of  perfecting,  making 
perfect.     The  Levitical  priesthood  has  not  fully  succeeded  in  bring- 

67 


7:  II 


12  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

110  :  4  law),  what  further  need  was  there  that  °another  priest 

should  arise  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek,  and  °not 

12.  be  reckoned  after  the  order  of  Aaron?  For  the 
priesthood  °being  changed,  there  is  made  of  necessity 

13.  °a  change  also  ^  of  the  law.  For  °he  of  whom  these 
things  are  said  ^  belongeth  to  ^another  tribe,  from 
which  no   man   hath  °given   attendance  at    the  altar. 

14.  For  it  is  evident  that  our  Lord  hath  °sprung  out  of 
Judah;    as  to  which  tribe  Moses  spake  ^nothing  con- 

15.  cerning  priests.     And  what  we  say  is  °yet  more  abun- 

•  Or,  of  law      '  Gr.  hath  partaken  of.    See  ch.  ii.  14. 

ing  men  to  God,  for  the  psalmist  prophetically  proposes  another 
priesthood.  For  under  it.  The  Levitical  priesthood  is  recognized 
as  fundamental  in  Judaism,  and  underlying  its  legal  system.  An- 
other priest.  The  Messianic  priest  who  has  been  proclaimed  by 
the  psalmist.  Not  .  .  .  after  the  order  of  Aaron.  The  psalm- 
ist's words  practically  supersede  the  Aaronic  priesthood,  and  for  no 
other  possible  reason  than  that  it  had  proven  inadequate  to  make 
perfect.  The  institution  of  the  new  order  implies  the  inadequacy  of 
the  old  Aaronic  order. 

12.  Being  changed.  By  the  psalmist's  words  to  the  Messianic 
priest.  A  change  also  of  the  law.  Modification  of  the  funda- 
mental matter  in  the  Law,  the  priesthood,  prepares  us  for  other 
changes  in  it,  such  as  the  transference  of  the  priesthood  from  Levi 
to  Judah.  The  writer  is  comparing  Judaism  and  Christianity  in 
terms  of  priesthood.  Each  is  essentially  a  priesthood,  Judaism  a 
transient  Levitical  order,  of  proven  inadequacy,  Christianity  a  Mel- 
chizedek priesthood,  enduring  and  effectual. 

13.  He  of  whom.  Jesus,  of  whom,  as  Messiah,  the  psalmist 
prophetically  spoke.  Another  tribe.  Judah,  as  in  vs.  14.  Given 
attendance.     Officiated  as  priest. 

14.  Sprung  out  of  Judah,  The  writer  evidently  knows  of  Jesus' 
Davidic  descent,  which  is  reflected  in  the  earliest  Christian  belief, 
Rom.  1:3;  Mark  10  :  47,  48.  Nothing  concerning  priests.  A 
priest  from  Judah  is,  from  the  point  of  view  of  Moses'  law,  an  in- 
novation. The  oracle  from  Ps.  no  thus  implies  and  indeed  estab- 
lishes the  inadequacy  of  the  old  priesthood,  and  invalidates  the  Law 
at  an  essential  point. 

15.  Yet  more    abundantly    evident.     The   superiority   of   the 

68 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  7  :  19 

dantly  evident,  if  after  °the  likeness  of  Melchizedek 

16.  there    arise th  °another  priest,  who  °hath   been    made, 
not  °after  the  law  of  a  carnal  commandment,  but  after 

17.  °the  pow^er   of  an   ^endless  life:  for  °it  is  witnessed 
of  him, 

Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever  ps-  "° :  4 

After  the  order  of  Melchizedek. 

18.  °For  °there  is  °a  disannulling  of  a  foregoing  command- 
ment  °because  of  its  weakness  and  unprofitableness 

19.  (°for  the  law  made  nothing  perfect),  and  °a  bringing 

'  Gr.  indissoluble. 

Messianic  priesthood  is  shown  by  its  enduring  character,  contrasting 
with  the  transient  nature  of  the  old.  The  likeness  of  Melchizedek. 
As  described  in  vss.  1-3.     Another  priest.     Jesus. 

16.  Hath  been  made.  Lit.,  has  become,  i.e.,  become  priest.  After 
the  law  of  a  carnal  commandment.  Better,  By  law  of  fleshly,  i.e., 
physical,  statute.  The  Levitical  priest  took  office  as  eldest  son  of  a 
priestly  father,  of  proper  physical  descent  from  Levi  through  Aaron, 
and  free  from  physical  defect.  His  priesthood  was  thus  liable,  like 
all  things  physical,  to  dissolution,  and  hence  transient.  The  power 
of  an  endless  life.  Or,  By  power  of  indissoluble  life.  In  this  phrase 
"  power  "  is  in  contrast  to  "  law,"  above,  "  indissoluble,"  to  "  phys- 
ical," and  "  life  "  to  "  statute."  The  superiority  of  the  Messianic 
priestly  appointment  is  everywhere  seen.  It  is  by  virtue  of  the  might 
of  enduring  life.  He  is  high  priest  forever,  while  the  Levitical  priest- 
hood by  its  very  transitoriness  is  again  convicted  of  inferiority  and 
inadequacy. 

17.  It  is  witnessed.  The  testimony  of  the  psalm  which  is  at 
the  bottom  of  this  whole  argument,  is  again  quoted,  the  emphasis 
being  on  the  words  For  ever.  The  Messianic  priest  has  been  declared 
priest  for  ever.     His  is  the  enduring  and  final  priesthood. 

18.  For.  In  support  of  this  interpretation  of  the  oracle  just 
quoted.  There  is.  Better,  takes  place,  i.e.,  in  this  prophetic  utter- 
ance of  the  psalmist.  A  disannulling,  etc.  Better,  An  abrogation 
of  a  previous  statute,  viz.,  that  ordaining  an  Aaronic  priesthood.  Be- 
cause of  its  weakness,  etc.  The  old  priesthood,  as  maintained 
above,  failed  to  perfect  men,  in  bringing  them  near  to  God.    Cf.  vs.  11. 

19.  For.  This  parenthesis  serves  to  buttress  the  bold  statement 
that  the  priesthood  statute  was  v»-eak  and  disadvantageous,  by  ex- 

69 


EPISTLE  TO   THE   HEBREWS 

in   thereupon  of  °a  better   hope,  through   which  °we 

20.  draw  nigh  unto   God.     °And  inasmuch  as  it  is  not 

21.  without  the  taking  of  an  oath  (for  °they  indeed  have 
been  made  priests  without  an  oath;  °but  he  °with  an 
oath  ^by  him  that  saith  ^of  him, 

The  Lord  sware  and  °will  not  repent  himself, 
Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever) ; 

22.  by  so  much  also  hath  Jesus  become  the  °surety  of  °a 

23.  better  ^covenant.    °And  they  indeed  have  been  made 

'  Or,  through      '  Or,  unto      3  Or,  testament 

tending  the  criticism  to  the  whole  law,  which  the  writer  views  as  pro- 
visional, accommodated,  and  typical.  A  bringing  in  thereupon. 
The  psalmist's  prophecy  has  two  implications :  the  abrogation  of  the 
old,  imperfect  statute,  and  the  introduction  and  substitution  of  a 
new  and  better  hope.  A  better  hope.  Than  was  conferred  by 
Judaism.  This  thought  of  the  better  hope  and  covenant  dominates 
the  later  part  of  the  epistle.  We  draw  nigh  unto  God.  In  this 
affirmation  is  involved  the  conclusion  of  the  writer's  argument  for 
Christ  as  priest  and  forerunner,  through  whom  we  obtain  access  to  the 
very  presence  of  God.  The  great  salvation  is  a  better  hope,  through 
which  we  draw  near  to  God.     This  is  the  high  point  of  the  epistle. 

20.  And  inasmuch.  Correlative  with  By  so  much,  vs.  22.  Vs.  21 
is  parenthetical.  That  Christ's  priesthood  and  covenant  are  better 
than  the  old  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  they  are  solemnly  oath-at- 
tested: TJie  Lord  hath  sworn  and  he  will  not  repent,  Thou  art  a  priest 
for  ever.  The  new  covenant  is  superior  to  the  old  in  this  quality  of 
being  oath-attested,  and  is  as  far  superior  as  that  implies. 

21.  They  indeed.  The  Levitical  priests.  But  he.  The  Mes- 
sianic priest.  With  an  oath.  The  appointment  must  be  of  an 
extraordinarily  solemn  and  momentous  kind  to  be  so  weightily  at- 
tested. The  writer  thus  lays  hold  of  every  element  in  the  prophetic 
oracle  to  point  the  superiority  of  the  Messianic  priest  over  the  Leviti- 
cal. The  former  is  ideal,  perfect,  eternal,  and  oath-attested.  Will 
not  repent.     The  new  priesthood  is  therefore  unalterable. 

22.  Surety.  Guarantor.  A  better  covenant.  The  writer's 
verdict  of  inferiority,  passed  first  upon  the  old  priesthood,  has  ex- 
tended to  the  old  Law  and  now  at  length  to  the  old  covenant.  The 
covenant  for  which  Jesus  is  surety  is  a  better  one,  as  his  oath-at- 
tested priesthood  shows. 

23.  A  final  point  of  superiority  for  the  Messianic  priest;    he  is 

70 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  7  :  26 

priests  many  in  number,  because  that  by  death  they 

24.  are  hindered  from  "continuing:  °but  he,  because  he 
°abideth  °for  ever,  ^hath  his  priesthood  °^  unchangeable. 

25.  "Wherefore  also  he  is  able  to  save  °^  to  the  uttermost 
them  that  draw  near  unto  God  through  him,  seeing 
he  "ever  liveth  to  "make  intercession  for  them. 

26.  For  such  a  high  priest  "became  us,  "holy,  "guileless, 
"undefiled,  "separated  from  sinners,  and  "made  higher 


'  Or,  hath  a  priesthood  that  doth  not  pass  to  another    '  Or,  inviolable    3  Gr.  com- 
pletely. 


one,   not  many.    And   they  indeed.     The   Levitical   priests.     We 

may  render,  They  in  numbers  have  become  priests.  In  Judaism  one 
priest  followed  another,  and  thus  the  high  priesthood  was  a  d'sjointed 
thing,  without  real  unity  or  continuity.  Continuing.  That  is, 
remaining  priests, 

24.  But  he.  Christ,  the  Messianic  priest.  Abideth.  Re- 
mains priest.  For  ever.  As  declared  in  the  psalm.  Unchange- 
able. Rather,  untransferable.  As  he  continues  priest  forever,  he 
never  has  to  give  way  to  a  successor,  and  his  priestly  ofhce  never 
passes  to  another.  To  the  other  superiorities  of  the  Messianic  priest 
must  therefore  be  added  the  untransferableness  of  his  office. 

25.  Wherefore.  Such  a  priestly  office  as  has  been  described, 
especially  as  being  eternal  and  untransferable,  enables  its  possessor 
to  give  the  great  salvation  already  spoken  of,  2:3.  To  the  utter- 
most. Utterly,  absolutely,  in  all  respects.  Here  is  that  completing, 
perfecting  quality  which  was  wanting  in  the  Levitical  system  and 
the  Law.  Ever  liveth.  His  eternal  existence  carries  with  it  con- 
tinual priestly  service.  Make  intercession.  This  ever-ready  inter- 
cession constitutes  Christ's  eternal  priestly  service,  and  reveals  its 
complete  and  perfect  character. 

The  supreme  efficacy  and  dignity  of  Christ's  priesthood,  7  :  26-28. 

26.  A  triumphant  summary  of  the  greatness  of  the  ideal  Messi- 
anic priest.  Became  us.  Our  needs  demanded  such  a  high  priest. 
Holy.  In  his  relation  to  God,  i.e.,  Godly.  Guileless.  In  his  rela- 
tion to  men,  toward  whom  he  is  without  offence.  Undefiled.  And 
hence  unobjectionable  as  priest.  Separated.  Better,  removed,  i.e., 
in  his  heavenly  exaltation,  far  from  the  soiling  presence  of  the  sinful. 
Made  higher.  Or,  Becoine  higher,  with  reference  to  his  exaltation 
as  Son,  I  :  3,  to  God's  right  hand,  where,  in  the  heavenly  sanctuary, 

71 


EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS 

27.  than  the  heavens;  who  °needeth  not  °daily,  like  those 
high  priests,  to  offer  up  sacrifices,  first  °for  his  own  sins, 
and  then  °for  the  sins  of  the  people:    for  this  he  did 

28.  once  for  all,  when  he  offered  up  himself.  For  the  law 
appointeth  men  high  priests,  having  infirmity;  but 
the  word  of  the  oath,  which  was  after  the  law,  ap- 
pointeth a  Son,  perfected  for  evermore. 

his  priestly  intercession  is  direct  and  continual.     From  every  point 
of  view  he  proves  the  perfect,  ideal  high  priest. 

27.  Needeth  not.  Since  he  is  holy,  guileless,  undefiled,  and  re- 
moved from  sinners  to  the  presence  of  God.  Daily,  like  those  high 
priests.  It  is  not  strictly  true  that  the  Levitical  high  priest  had 
daily  to  offer  sacrifice,  first  for  his  own  sins  and  then  for  the  people's. 
That  was  the  usage  of  the  Day  of  Atonement,  once  a  year.  The 
writer  here  blends  that  high  priestly  ministration  with  the  daily 
priestly  service.  For  his  own  sins.  The  repetition  of  the  old  offer- 
ing was  due  in  part  to  the  imperfection  of  the  priests  who  offered  it; 
hence  with  the  disappearance  of  the  imperfection,  the  repetition,  too, 
may  be  expected  to  vanish.  For  the  sins  of  the  people .  Yet  it  is  only 
in  part  that  it  is  due  to  priestly  imperfection,  for  an  offering  is  made 
for  the  people  too.  Without  a  recurring  offering,  how  are  their  sins 
to  be  atoned  for?  Such  an  atonement,  the  writer  replies,  he  made 
once  for  all,  when  he  offered  up  himself.  In  this  clause  the  writer 
discloses  the  inmost  heart  of  Christ's  priestly  service,  his  sacrifice 
of  himself,  in  his  life  of  devotion  on  earth,  and  most  signally  in  his 
death  on  the  cross.  His  ideal  priesthood  culminates  in  this  tremen- 
dous fact.  For  himself  he  has  no  need  to  offer;  and  for  the  people 
he  has  made  the  supreme  offering  in  dying  for  them. 

28.  The  contrast  between  the  two  priesthoods  is  finally  and  con- 
vincingly pointed.  On  the  one  hand,  the  Law,  with  its  appointment 
of  men;  on  the  other,  the  oath-attested  oracle,  ordaining  a  Son;  on 
the  one  hand,  beings  of  infirmity;  on  the  other,  one  perfected  for 
evermore,  i.e.,  ideally  fitted  by  character  and  elevation  for  priestly 
service.  In  these  last  elements,  the  Messianic  priesthood  has  clearly 
transcended  its  Melchizedek  prototype. 


72 


IV.  Christ's   High   Priestly   Service,    carrying 
WITH  IT  THE  New  Covenant,  is  infinitely 

better   THAN   THEIRS    (WHICH   WAS   BUT   THE 

Shadow),  in  its  Heavenly  Sanctuary, 

ITS  Sacrifice  of  Himself,  and  its 

Eternal  Efficacy,  8  :  i-io  :  39 

1.  The  New  Priesthood  implies  the  New  and  Better  Cove-  8  :  i 

nant,  8  :  1-13. 

8.       ^  Now  2  in  the  things  which  we  are  saying  °the  chief 

point  is  this:    We  have  °such  a  high  priest,  °who  sat  ps.  no:  4 
down  °on  the  right  hand  of  °the  throne  of  the  Majesty 

2.  °in  the  heavens,  °a  minister  of  ^  the  sanctuary,  and  of 
°the  true  tabernacle,  which  the  Lord  pitched,  not  man. 

'  Or,  Now  to  sum  up  what  we  are  saying:  We  have  etc.  '  Gr.  upon.  3  Or,  holy 
things 

1.  The  chief  point.  Better,  Now  to  crown  what  we  are  saying 
(Rendall).  Such  a  high  priest.  As  we  needed  and  as  has  been 
described.  Who  sat  down.  Better,  And  he  has  taken  his  seat.  In 
the  heavens  should  be  connected  with  this  clause,  not  with  Majesty. 
On  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  the  Majesty,  cf.  i  :  3.  This 
picture  of  the  exalted  station  of  the  Messianic  priest  prepares  the 
way  for  the  writer's  next  thought,  the  immeasurable  superiority  of 
his  priestly  ministry  to  that  of  Aaron. 

2.  A  minister.  Better,  as  ^ninister ;  to  be  connected  with  He 
has  taken  his  seat,  vs.  i.  The  true  tabernacle.  Throughout  the 
epistle  the  reference  is  always  to  the  Tent  of  Meeting  described  in 
Ex.  25-27,  never  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem.  The  true  Tent,  how- 
ever, means  not  the  Tent  of  Meeting,  but  the  heavenly  pattern  of  it 
shown  to  Moses  in  the  Mount,  Ex.  25:9,  40,  and  hence  described 
here  as  that  which  the  Lord  pitched,  not  man.  That  is,  Christ  min- 
isters in  that  original,  archetypal,  heavenly  sanctuary,  of  which  the 
Tent  of  Meeting  was  a  rude  copy  or  even  shadow  (vs.  5). 

73 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

3.  For  °every  high  priest  is  appointed  to  offer  both  gifts 
and  sacrifices:   wherefore  it  is  necessary  that  this  high 

4.  priest  also  °have  somewhat  to  offer.  Now  if  he  were 
°on  earth,  he  °would  not  be  a  priest  at  all,  °seeing  there 
are  those  who  offer  the  gifts  ^according  to  the  law; 

5.  who  serve  that  which  is  a  °copy  and  shadow  of  the 
heavenly  things,  even  as  Moses  is  warned  of  God  when 
he  is  about  to  ^  make  the  tabernacle :  for.  See,  saith  he, 
that  thou   make   all   things  according  to   the   pattern 

6.  that  was  shewed  thee  in  the  mount.     But  now  hath  he 

I  Or,  complete 

3.  Every  high  priest.  Since  the  presenting  of  offerings  invaria- 
bly characterizes  the  high  priestly  office,  the  heavenly  high  priest 
must  have  such  a  function.  Have  somewhat  to  offer.  Attention 
is  recalled  to  the  sacrifice  which  Christ  offers,  already  briefly  suggested 
(7  :  27^),  but  not  yet  fully  grasped  by  the  readers,  to  whom  it  was 
doubtless  an  altogether  novel  idea.  The  high  priest  of  the  heavenly 
sanctuary  must  make  some  offering  there;  what  that  offering  is  the 
writer  does  not  here  say. 

4.  It  is  no  earthly  offering,  however,  since  he  is  no  earthly  priest. 
On  earth.  Whereas  the  ideal  priest  ministers  in  heaven.  Would 
not  be  a  priest.  For  he  belongs  not  to  the  earthly  Aaronic  order, 
but  to  the  heavenly  Messianic  priesthood.  Seeing  there  are  those. 
He  is  not  simply  another  earthly  priest,  with  a  similar  offering  and 
ministry;  of  such  there  are  enough.  His  sphere  and  task  are  differ- 
ent. According  to  the  law.  The  legally  specified  offerings  of  the 
Tent  of  Meeting  are  not  to  be  expected  from  the  heavenly  priest. 

5.  Copy  and  shadow.  The  real  sanctuary  and  service  are  in 
heaven.  Philo  has  a  similar  view  of  heavenly  archetypes  and  earthly 
shadow-copies.  The  basis  for  this  favorite  Alexandrian  idea  was 
found  in  the  words  of  Jehovah,  Ex.  25  :  40. 

6.  Whatever  the  new  ministry  is,  it  may  be  expected  to  surpass 
the  old  as  much  as  the  new  covenant  already  mentioned  surpasses 
the  old  and  the  attendant  promises  the  promises  underlying  the  old. 
The  better  covenant,  with  its  loftier  promises,  implies  some  better 
service  for  the  high  priest  w^ho  is  its  mediator,  i.e.,  establishes  it. 
Mediator.  Christ  has  been  mentioned  above  as  the  surety  of  this 
better  covenant,  7  :  22.  He  is  now  called  its  mediator,  i.e.,  the  agent 
of  its  establishment  (Bruce). 

74 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  8  :  9 

obtained  a  ministry  the  more  excellent,  ^  by  how  much 
also  he  is  the  °mediator  of  a  better  ^  covenant  which 
hath  been  enacted  upon  better  promises.  °For  if  that 
first  covenant  had  been  faultless,  then  would  no  place 
have  been  sought  for  a  second.  For  ^finding  fault 
°with  them,  °he  saith,  Jer.  31  :  31- 

Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  ^"^ 

That  °I  will  ^  make  a  new  ^  covenant  with  the  house 
of  Israel  and  with  the  house  of  Judah; 

°Not  according  to  the  ^  covenant  that  I  made  with 
their  fathers 

In  the  day  that  I  took  them  by  the  hand  to  lead  them 
forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt; 

°For  they  continued  not  in  my  ^  covenant. 

And  I  °regarded  them  not,  saith  the  Lord. 


'  SV  by  so  much  as  he  is  also,  etc.  ^  Or,  testament 

3  SVra  Some  ancient  authorities  read,  finding  fault  with  it,  he  saith  unto  them,  etc. 

■*  Gr.  accomplish 


7.  For.  Jeremiah's  prophecy  of  a  new  covenant  implies  the 
failure  of  the  old,  just  as  the  psalmist's  announcement  of  the  Messianic 
priesthood  implies  the  defectiveness  and  prospective  abrogation  of 
the  old  priesthood.  The  writer's  bold  assertion  of  the  inferiority 
of  the  old  covenant  is  thus  supported  by  the  Old  Testament  itself. 

8.  With  them.  The  blame  did  primarily  attach  to  the  people, 
but  involved  the  covenant  as  well,  since  it  had  failed  to  keep  them 
faithful  to  God.  He  saith.  This  oracle,  the  longest  quotation  from 
the  Old  Testament  found  in  the  New,  presents  the  prophetic  picture 
of  a  new  dispensation,  characterized  by  spiritual  renewal  and  for- 
giveness of  sin,  in  place  of  the  Mosaic  system  of  statute  and  ritual, 
with  its  tendency  to  sunder  true  inward  righteousness  from  religion. 
The  prophecy  belongs  probably  to  the  time  of  the  siege  and  capture 
of  Jerusalem  by  the  Babylonians.     I  will  make.     Better,  conclude. 

9.  Not  according  to.  The  oracle  distinctly  states  that  the  new 
covenant  is  to  be  unlike  the  old,  and  in  this  the  writer  finds  a  reflec- 
tion upon  the  old.  For  they  continued  not.  The  failure  was  in 
part  the  people's;   in  part  it  was  due  to  the  unsuitability  of  the  cove- 

75 


8  :  10  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

10.  For  this  is  the  ^  covenant  that  ^  I  will  make  with  the 

house  of  Israel 
After  those  days,  saith  the  Lord; 
I  will  put  my  laws  °into  their  mind, 
And  on  their  heart  also  °will  I  write  them: 
And  I  will  be  °to  them  a  God, 
And  they  shall  be  to  me  a  people: 

11.  And  °they  shall   not  teach   every   man  his  fellow- 

citizen. 
And  every  man  his  brother,  saying.  Know  the  Lord : 
For  all  shall  know  me, 
°From  the  least  to  the  greatest  of  them. 

12.  °For  I  will  be  merciful  to  their  iniquities. 
And  their  sins  will  I  remember  no  more. 

'  Or,  testament      ^  Gr.  /  will  covetiant. 

nant  to   their   needs.     Regarded   them  not.     The   covenant   thus 
failed  to  hold  God  and  his  people  together. 

ID.  The  better  promises  claimed  in  vs.  6  constitute  the  further  part 
of  the  prophetic  oracle.  The  first  is  the  inward  law.  Into  their 
mind.  Inward  spiritual  law  is  to  take  the  place  of  external  formal 
statute.  Will  I  write  them.  Of  old  they  were  written  on  the  tables 
of  stone,  but  in  the  days  to  come  these  fundamental  principles  of 
morality  and  religion  will  color  the  very  sources  of  man's  thought 
and  impulse.  To  them  a  God  ...  to  me  a  people.  For  the 
new  covenant  is  promised  just  that  efficacy  which  the  old  had 
failed  to  realize. 

11.  They  shall  not  teach.  The  minute  and  often  non-moral 
statutes  of  the  old  Law  were  matters  of  precise  technical  informa- 
tion, and  might  be  transgressed  in  all  innocence  and  righteous  in- 
tention, so  that  godly  minded  men  had  to  be  painfully  taught  by 
priest  and  scribe  the  "  Knowledge  of  Jehovah."  All  this  trivial 
and  indifferent  legislation  is,  the  writer  understands,  to  be  done 
away.  From  the  least  to  the  greatest.  The  law  of  God  being 
reduced  to  those  great  moral  terms  comprehended  in  the  Decalogue, 
unencumbered  with  the  detail  of  ritual  and  ceremonial,  and  implanted 
in  the  heart,  will  be  spontaneously  grasped  by  all  righteous-minded 
men,  however  unprivileged  or  unlettered. 

12.  The  second  promise  is  the  forgiveness  of  sin.     For.     Intro- 

76 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  g  :  4 

13,  In  that  he  saith,  A  new  covenant,  he  hath  made  the 
first  old.  But  that  which  is  becoming  old  and  waxeth 
aged  is  nigh  unto  vanishing  away. 

2.    The  Better  Sanctuary,  Sacrifice,  and  Ministry,  9  :  1-28. 

9.  Now  even  the  first  covenant  had  ordinances  of  divine 

service,  and  its  sanctuary,  a  sanctuary  °of  this  world. 

2.  For  there  was  °a  tabernacle  prepared,  °the  first,  wherein 
^  were  the  °candlestick,  and  °the  table,  and  ^  the  shew- 

3.  bread;  which  is  called  the  Holy  place.  And  after 
°the  second   veil,  the   tabernacle  which  is  called  the 

4.  Holy  of  holies;  having  a  golden  °^ censer,  and  °the 
ark  of  the  covenant  overlaid  round  about  with  gold, 

'  Or,  are      »  Gr.  the  setting  forth  of  the  loaves.       3  SV  altar  of  incense 

ducing  the  ground  of  the  promise  of  the  inward  law  just  given.  Free- 
dom from  the  consciousness  of  sin  underlies  and  promotes  knowledge 
of  God  and  access  to  him.  God  will  no  longer  permit  men's  sins 
to  hinder  this  knowledge  and  approach. 

The  Christian  sanctuary  infinitely  excels  the  old,  g  :  i-io. 

1.  In  preparation  for  the  exposition  of  the  Messianic  priest's 
ministry,  the  old  priestly  ministry  is  described.  The  discussion 
thus  connects  itself  with  the  more  excellent  ministry  of  8:6. 
Of  this  world  is  probably  to  be  taken  predicatively  with  both  ordi- 
nances  and  sanctuary. 

2.  A  tabernacle.  Used  in  general,  of  the  whole  Tent  of  Meeting. 
The  first.  Used  of  the  first  or  fore  part  of  the  Tent,  the  Holy  place. 
The  writer  speaks  of  it  as  the  first  tent.  He  proceeds  to  describe 
its  furniture,  as  in  Ex.  25,  26,  37,  39,  40.  Candlestick.  As  in 
Ex.  25  :  31-40;  37  :  17-24.  The  table,  and  the  shewbread.  As 
in  Ex.  25  :  23-30;  37  :  10-16.  The  location  of  these  objects  in  the 
Holy  place  is  in  accordance  with  Ex.  40  :  22-24, 

3.  The  second  veil.  The  veil  strictly  so  called.  It  is  here  called 
the  second  veil,  because  another  veil  or  curtain  hung  before  the  Holy 
place,  and  had  first  to  be  lifted  in  entering  the  Tent. 

4.  Censer.  Better,  altar  of  incense,  which  played  an  important 
part  in  the  ritual  of  the  Day  of  Atonement,  Ex.  30  :  10;  Lev,  16: 
18-20.     It  is   true  this  was  placed  in  the  Holy  place,  according  to 

77 


9  :  5  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

wherein  ^  was  a  °golden  pot  holding  the  manna,  and 
°Aaron's  rod  that  budded,  and  °the  tables  of  the  cove- 

5.  nant;  and  above  it  °cherubim  of  glory  overshadowing 
^  the  mercy-seat ;  of  which  things  we  cannot  now  speak 

6.  severally.  Now  these  things  having  been  thus  °pre- 
pared,    the    priests   go   in   ^continually    into   °the    first 

7.  tabernacle,  accomplishing  the  services;  but  °into  the 
second  the  high  priest  alone,  once  in  the  year,  not 
without  blood,  which  he  °offereth  for  himself,  and  for 

'  Or,  is       '  Gr.  the  propitiatory. 

Ex.  30:6;  40:  26.  But  it  is  incredible  that  this  most  important 
object  should  have  been  omitted  by  the  writer,  and  no  such  censer 
as  the  other  interpretation  demands  is  known  to  have  formed  part 
of  these  furnishings.  Philo  has  a  similar  understanding  as  to  the 
place  of  the  incense  altar,  and  Ex.  40  :  5  certainly  gives  some  color 
to  his  view:  Thou  shalt  set  the  golden  altar  for  incense  before  the  ark 
of  the  testimony.  On  the  other  hand,  the  word  having  has  suggested 
that  the  writer  means  to  point  out  that  the  incense  altar,  though 
appertaining  to  the  ritual  of  the  inmost  sanctuary,  and  standing  at 
the  very  door  of  it,  was  yet  cut  off  from  it  by  the  interposed  veil. 
The  ark  of  the  covenant.  The  contents  of  the  ark  are  described 
in  practical  agreement  with  the  representation  of  the  Pentateuch. 
Golden  pot  holding  the  manna.  Cf.  Ex.  16  :  ^t,,  34.  It  is  called 
golden  in  the  LXX,  but  not  in  the  Hebrew.  Aaron's  rod  that 
budded.  As  in  Num.  17  :  10,  11.  Like  the  rabbis,  the  writer 
understands  the  rod  and  manna  to  be  within  the  ark.  The  tables 
of  the  covenant.     Cf.  Ex.  25:  16,  and  i  Kings  8  :  9. 

5.  Cherubim.  As  described  in  Ex.  25  :  18-22.  This  detailed 
catalogue  of  furniture  and  emphasis  upon  its  worth  and  interest 
shows  the  writer's  purpose  to  represent  the  old  sanctuary  at  its  best, 
indeed  as  being  as  good  as  an  earthly  one  could  be. 

6.  Prepared.  Or,  furnished.  Continually.  Daily,  morning 
and  evening.     The  first  tabernacle.     The  Holy  place  is  meant. 

7.  Into  the  second.  The  Most  Holy  place.  Into  the  first, 
only  priests  might  enter,  into  the  second  only  the  high  priest,  and 
he  but  once  a  year,  and  even  then  not  without  an  offering  of  blood,  — 
so  far  was  that  old  ritual  from  giving  men  free  and  direct  access  to 
the  presence  of  God.  Offereth  for  himself.  Evidence  of  the 
imperfection  of  his  ministrv,  since  he  had  to  offer  for  himself,  as  the 

78 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  9  :  10 

8.  the  °^  errors  of  the  people :  the  Holy  Ghost  °this  signify- 
ing, that  the  way  into  the  holy  place  hath  not  yet  been 
made  manifest,  while  ^  as  °the  first  tabernacle  °is  yet 

9.  standing;  °which  w  a  ^  parable  °for  the  time  now  pres- 
ent ;  °according  to  which  are  offered  both  gifts  and  sac- 
rifices that  °cannot,  as  touching  the  conscience,  make 

10.  °the  worshipper  ^perfect,  being  °only  (°with  meats  and 

'  Gr.  igfwrances.       'SV  om.  a^.      3  SY  Jigttre 

Messianic  high  priest  has  no  need  to  do.     Errors.     Strictly,  sins 
done  in  ignorance.     Cf.  Ecclus.  23  :  2,  3. 

8.  This  signifying.  The  writer  finds  in  this  old  service,  with 
its  forbidden  sanctuary,  the  divine  acknowledgment  that  free  access 
to  the  presence  of  God  is  not  yet  to  be  had.  The  way  into  the  sanc- 
tuary has  not  yet  been  revealed.  The  first  tabernacle.  Here, 
as  above,  the  Holy  place,  the  first  chamber  of  the  Tent  of  Meeting. 
Is  yet  standing.  Better,  stUl  has  standing,  i.e.,  position,  status. 
The  Tent  of  Meeting  with  its  two  compartments,  the  one  fairly 
accessible  to  the  priests,  the  other  practically  inaccessible,  spells 
exclusion  from  the  immediate  presence  of  God,  just  as  long  as  the 
outer  compartment,  backed  with  the  impassable  veil,  maintains  its 
present  standing,  as  the  furthest  point  men  may  freely  reach  in  the 
direction  of  God's  presence.  It  comes,  therefore,  to  appear  rather  as 
a  bar  preventing  approach,  than  as  an  avenue  of  partial  access. 

9.  Which.  The  standing  is  referred  to.  The  old  role  or  posi- 
tion of  the  Holy  place  was  a  parable,  suggestive  to  the  thoughtful 
mind  of  its  own  imperfect  and  transient  nature.  For  the  time 
now  present.  Better,  the  time  being,  the  time  then  present.  Trans- 
late, And  this  position  was  a  parable  for  the  time  being.  According 
to  which.  Or,  In  keeping  with  which  parable.  Cannot  .  .  . 
perfect.  In  keeping  with  this  old  position  of  the  outer  chamber, 
all  its  service  of  gifts  and  offerings  was  lame  and  ineffectual,  as  far 
as  the  important  matters  of  giving  men  a  real  sense  of  reconcilia- 
tion and  nearness  to  God  were  concerned.  The  worshipper.  Gk. 
Him  who  ministers,  i.e.,  the  priest  officiating.  Not  even  he  is 
made  perfect  in  conscience  and  spirit  by  his  ministry.  Or  he  is 
perhaps  thought  of  as  representing  the  persons  for  whom  he  offers 
as  well  as  himself.  Perfect.  The  failure  of  the  old  service  to  com- 
plete or  perfect  anything  is  again  brought  out. 

10.  The  ineffectualness  of  the  old  offerings  is  natural  enough  in 
view  of  their  material  character.     Only  .  .  .  carnal  ordinances. 

79 


EPISTLE   TO   THE  HEBREWS 

drinks  and  divers  washings)   carnal  ordinances,  im- 
posed until  °a  time  of  reformation. 

11.  But  Christ  having  come  °a  high  priest  of  ^  the  good 
things  °to  come,  "through  the  "greater  and  more  per- 
fect tabernacle,  "not  made  with  hands,  that  is  to  say, 

12.  not  of  this  creation,  nor  yet  through  the  blood  of  "goats 
and  "calves,  but  through  "his  own  blood,  "entered  in 
"once   for   all   into   the   holy   place,    "having  obtained 

'  Some  ancient  authorities  read  the  good  things  that  are  come. 

Gk.  ordinances  of  fiesh,  i.e.,  probably,  of  a  material,  fleshly  kind. 
They  affected  the  flesh,  perhaps,  making  it  ceremonially  clean,  but 
not  the  conscience.  With  meats.  Perhaps,  Resting  on  meats,  or 
Having  to  do  luith  meats,  etc.  A  time  of  reformation.  The  fleshly 
character  of  the  old  ordinances  and  service  stamped  them  as  pro- 
visional. By  a  time  of  reformation,  or  setting  right,  perfecting,  the 
Messianic  time  is  evidently  meant.  The  poor  and  trivial  character 
of  the  old  priestly  ministry  is  thus  apparent, 

Christ's  sacrifice  immeasurably  better  than  the  old,  9  :  11-22. 

11,  Christ  has  made  his  way  into  the  Sanctuary,  and  effected 
complete  and  lasting  redemption  there,  A  high  priest.  The  work 
of  Christ  is  here  set  forth  as  nearly  as  may  be  in  terms  of  Levitical 
practice.  To  come.  Better,  that  are  come.  The  blessings  of  the 
Gospel  are  meant.  Through  the  .  ,  ,  tabernacle.  To  be  con- 
nected with  Entered  in,  vs.  12.  Christ  has  come  as  high  priest,  and 
has  entered,  through  the  greater  tent,  into  the  sanctuary,  once  for 
all.  Greater  and  more  perfect.  I'he  ideal,  heavenly  Tent,  the 
pattern  shown  to  Moses  in  the  mount,  of  which  the  old  Tent  of 
Meeting  was  a  rough  and  shadowy  copy.  Not  made  with  hands, 
,  ,  .  not  of  this  creation.  It  is  not  a  material  Tent,  but  an  ideal, 
heavenly  one. 

12,  While  Aaron  entered  the  sanctuary  with  the  blood  of  cattle, 
the  new  high  priest  has  offered  up  his  own  blood,  obviously  an  im- 
measurably more  precious  and  acceptable  sacrifice.  Goats.  For 
the  people.  Lev.  16  :  15.  Calves,  For  the  high  priest.  Lev.  16  :  11. 
His  own  blood.  That  Christ  was  himself  the  victim  here  appears 
again.  Entered  in.  The  central  affirmation  of  vss.  it,  12,  This  was 
the  better  ministry  of  the  new  high  priest.  Once  for  all.  His 
atonement  did  not  have  to  be  annually  repeated,  as  did  Aaron's, 
Having  obtained.  Better,  And  obtained,  secured.  Eternal 
redemption.     Not  merely  the  temporary  atonement  secured  by  the 

80 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  9  :  15 

13.  °eternal  redemption.  °For  if  the  blood  of  °goats  and 
bulls,  and  the  °ashes  of  a  heifer  sprinkUng  them  that 
have  been  defiled,  sanctify  unto  the  °cleanness  of  the 

14.  flesh:  °how  much  more  shall  the  blood  of  °Christ, 
who  °through  ^  the  eternal  Spirit  offered  himself 
"without  blemish  unto  God,  cleanse  °^your  °conscience 

15.  °from  dead  works  °to  serve  the  living  God?  And 
°for    this    cause    he    is    the    mediator    of    a     new 


SVm  his  eternal  spirit.      '  Many  ancient  authorities  read  oi 


old  high  priest,  but  eternally  lasting  redemption.  His  service  or 
ministry  is  thus  final  and  definitive.  It  thus  surpasses  Aaron's  in 
its  place  of  performance,  the  heavenly  sanctuary;  in  the  attendant 
sacrifice,  not  cattle  but  Christ  himself;  in  its  performance  once  for 
all,  not  repeatedly;    and  in  its  eternal  effectiveness. 

13.  For.  The  writer  elaborates  the  striking  contrast  between 
the  old  victims  and  the  new.  Goats  and  bulls.  The  victims  on 
the  annual  Day  of  Atonement.  Ashes  of  a  heifer.  As  prescribed 
in  Num.  19  for  cases  of  uncleanness  through  touching  the  dead. 
The  arrangement  for  cleansing  collective  Israel  from  the  defilement 
of  sin  and  death  is  covered  by  these  two  fjrovisions.  Cleanness 
of  the  flesh.  These  material  offerings  are  effective  in  the  material 
realm;  they  effect  external,  fleshly  cleanness,  cleansing  the  person 
rather  than  the  conscience. 

14.  How  much  more.  The  a  fortiori  argument.  Christ. 
Better,  the  Christ.  Through  the  eternal  Spirit.  Better,  through 
an  eternal  spirit.  The  old  victims  and  offerings  lacked  the  lofty 
moral  quality  that  invested  the  sacrifice  of  Christ.  The  spirit  of 
Christ's  offering  elevated  it  above  all  others,  and  gave  it  its  enduring 
moral  value.  V/ithout  blemish.  The  Vv-ord  used  of  Levitical 
victims  to  express  physical  perfection  is  applied  to  Christ,  in  a  moral 
sense.  Your.  Better,  Our.  Conscience.  As  the  old  offerings 
cleansed  men's  persons,  the  new  frees  the  conscience,  the  inner  life, 
from  the  sense  of  guilt,  and  the  dominion  of  sin.  From  dead  works. 
As  in  6:1,  sinful  acts.  To  serve.  The  word  implies  priestly  ser- 
vice, and  recalls  the  writer's  conception  of  Christ  as  our  forerunner 
in  the  sanctuary  of  the  divine  presence.  Cleansed  by  his  offering, 
we  are  prepared  to  minister  to  God. 

15.  For  this  cause.  The  better  ministry  just  established  is 
now  made  to  buttress  the  new  covenant  announced  in  7  :  22;  8:6. 

G  81 


9  :  i6  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

^covenant,  that  °a  death  having  taken  place  for  the 
redemption  of  the  °transgressions  that  were  under 
the   first  ^covenant,  they  °that  have  been  called  may 

1 6.  °receive  the  promise  of  the  °eternal  inheritance.     For 
where  a  °^  testament  is,  there  must  of  necessity  ^  be 

17.  the  death  of  him  that  made  it.     For  a  °^  testament 
is  of  force  ^  where  there  hath  been  death :    ^  for  doth 

18.  it  ever  avail  while  he  that  made  it  liveth  ?    ^Wherefore 


»  The    Greek   word   here  used  signifies  both  covenant  and   testament.      '  Gr.   be 
brought.      3  Gr.  over  the  dead.      *  SW  for  it  doth  never  .  .  .  liveth 


A  death.  That  of  Christ,  to  which  a  new  meaning  is  now  given,  as 
validating  a  will,  in  which  sense  "  covenant  "  is  presently  used. 
Transgressions  .  .  .  under  the  first  covenant.  Sins  committed 
while  the  old,  imperfect  covenant  was  still  in  force,  and  only  super- 
ficially atoned  by  its  provisions.  That  have  been  called.  Whether 
in  former  or  latter  times.  Jewish  as  well  as  Christian  saints  are 
included  in  the  writer's  thought.  The  eternal  nature  of  Christ's 
redemptive  work,  done  through  eternal  spirit,  made  it  avail  for  all 
these.  Receive  the  promise.  That  is,  the  fulfilment  of  the  prom- 
ise. Eternal  inheritance.  Cf.  1:14;  6:12,  17.  The  thought 
of  Christ  as  leaving  a  will  or  testament  (covenant),  which  becomes 
operative  upon  his  death,  enables  the  writer  to  bring  his  death, 
always  most  difficult  of  acceptance  for  early  believers,  into  strikingly 
close  and  necessary  relations  with  the  new  covenant.  He  thus  inter- 
prets the  covenant  or  contract  as  a  testamentary  covenant,  i.e.,  a 
will,  the  same  Greek  word  having  both  forces.  The  writer  thus 
passes  from  a  loftier  to  a  lower  view  of  the  death  of  Christ,  in  his  effort 
to  commend  to  his  readers  the  great  salvation  in  terms  not  only  of 
the  new  high  priest  but  of  the  new  covenant.  For  both  conceptions, 
the  death  of  Christ,  so  unintelligible  and  offensive  to  the  early 
Christians,  is  shown  to  be  essential.  Christ  has  died,  and  his  heirs 
now  enter  upon  that  fellowship  with  God  which  he  has  bequeathed 
to  them  through  his  will  and  testament.  This  does  not,  however, 
exhaust  the  promised  inheritance,  the  fullest  realization  of  which  is 
shown  elsewhere  in  the  epistle  to  be  still  in  the  future. 

16,  17.  Testament.  In  the  Greek,  the  same  word  as  covenant 
above.  That  Christ  should  die  was  indispensable  to  the  operative- 
ness  of  his  testament.  It  could  not  go  into  force  while  he  still  lived. 
The  thought  here  is  therefore  not  that  we  are  joint  heirs  with  Christ, 
as  Paul  puts  it,  Rom.  8:17,  but  that  we  are  Christ's  heirs. 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  9  :  22 

even   °the   first    covenant    hath   not    been   dedicated 

19.  without  blood.  For  when  every  commandment 
°had  been  spoken  by  Moses  unto  ah  the  people 
according  to  the  law,  he  took  the  blood  of  the  calves 
and  the  goats,  with  water  and  scarlet  wool  and  hyssop, 
and  sprinkled  both  the  book  itself,  and  all  the  people, 

20.  saying,  This  is  the  blood  of  the  ^  covenant  which  God   Ex.  24 : 8 

21.  commanded  to  you-ward.  Moreover  the  tabernacle 
and  all  the  vessels  of  the  ministry  he  sprinkled  in  like 

22.  manner  with  the  blood.  And  °according  to  the  law, 
°I  may  almost  say,  all  things  are  °cleansed  with  blood, 
and  apart  from  °shedding  of  blood  °there  is  no 
remission. 

'  The  Greek  word  here  used  signifies  both  covenant  and  testament. 

18.  Wherefore.  The  necessity  of  bloodshedding  in  the  type 
now  appears.  Death  is  a  necessary  accompaniment  of  covenant 
making.  The  first  covenant.  Here  the  writer  returns  to  the  earlier 
and  more  general  sense  of  the  word  covenant. 

19.  Had  been  spoken.  The  reference  is  to  the  scene  in  Ex. 
24  :  3-8,  although  the  description  given  there  is  somewhat  modified 
in  this  verse. 

20.  Ex.  24  :  8b. 

21.  As  another  instance  of  blood-sprinkling,  the  consecration  of 
the  Tabernacle  is  mentioned.  This  is  described  in  Ex.  40  :  9,  where 
an  anointing  of  the  Tabernacle  and  its  furniture,  not  with  blood,  but 
with  oil,  is  prescribed.  This  is  the  most  serious  discrepancy  in  the 
passage,  and  seems  to  be  due  to  a  lapse  of  memory  on  the  writer's 
part;  but  it  is  worth  noting  that  Josephus  records  that  Moses  not 
only  used  oil  at  the  consecration  of  the  Tabernacle,  but  also  sprinkled 
it  and  its  vessels  with  blood,  Antt.  3:86.  The  writer's  under- 
standing is  thus  that  of  the  best  informed  Jews  of  his  day. 

22.  According  to  the  law.  This  phrase  limits  both  the  asser- 
tions made  in  this  verse.  I  may  almost  say.  Better,  in  general. 
Cleansed  with  blood.  The  blood-sprinkling  symbolized  cleansing 
from  sin.  Shedding  of  blood.  Better,  outpouring  of  blood.  The 
emphasis  is  not  upon  the  slaughtering  of  the  victim,  but  upon  the 
subsequent  use  of  its  blood.  There  is  no  remission.  Better,  No 
remission,  or  forgiveness,  takes  place.  Not  referred  to  as  a  Christian 
principle,  but  as  the  usage  of  the  Mosaic  Law. 

83 


9  :  23  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

23.  It  was  necessary  therefore  that  the  copies  of  the 
things  in  the  heavens  should  be  cleansed  with  these; 
but  the  heavenly  things  themselves  with  better  sacri- 

24.  fices  than  these.  °For  Christ  entered  not  into  a  holy 
place  °made  with  hands,  like  in  pattern  to  °the  true; 
but  °into  heaven  itself,  now  to  appear  °before  the  face 

25.  of  God  °for  us:  °nor  yet  that  he  should  °offer  himself 
often;    as  the  high  priest  entereth  into  the  holy  place 

26.  year  by  year  °with  blood  not  his  own;  else  must  he 
often  have  suffered  since  the  foundation  of  the  world: 
but  now  °once  at  °the  ^end  of  the  ages  hath  he  been 
manifested  to  °put  away  sin  °^  by  the  sacrifice  of  him- 

'  Or,  consummation      '  Or,  by  his  sacrifice 

Christ's  priestly  service  better  than  the  old,  9  :  23-28. 

23.  The  writer  returns  to  the  thought  of  the  ideal,  heavenly  sanc- 
tuary of  Christ's  ministry.  If  the  mere  earthly  shadow-copies  of 
that  sanctuary  and  its  furniture  had  to  be  thus  cleansed  with  the  blood 
of  cattle,  how  much  better  and  worthier  must  those  offerings  be 
whereby  the  heavenly  originals  are  consecrated.  The  thought  of 
Christ's  sacrificial  death  here  appears  as  the  consecration-offering  for 
the  dedication  of  that  heavenly  sanctuary.     He  is  the  better  sacrifice. 

24.  For.  In  explanation  of  the  reference  to  the  heavenly  originals. 
Made  with  hands.  A  material  sanctuary  on  earth.  The  true. 
I.e.,  the  ideal,  original  sanctuary  in  heaven.  The  writer's  character- 
istic contrast  between  the  original  and  the  copy,  the  ideal  and  the 
material,  the  heavenly  and  the  earthly,  the  shadow  and  the  substance, 
reappears  here.  Into  heaven  itself.  Suggestive  of  the  grandeur 
of  the  ministry  he  performs,  and  of  the  immense  worth  of  the  sacrifice 
fit  to  be  offered  there.  Before  the  face  of  God.  Christ's  entrance 
as  high  priest  into  the  heavenly  sanctuary  brings  him  into  the  very 
presence  of  God.     For  us.     In  intercession,  cf.  7  :  25. 

25.  Nor  yet.  Sc.  did  he  enter  in.  Offer  himself  often.  The 
solitary  sacrifice  of  Christ,  likely  to  perplex  the  readers,  is  shown 
to  be  reasonable,  and  eternally  efficacious.  With  blood  not  his 
own.  As  the  blood  was  not  his  own,  but  that  of  some  animal,  the 
repetition  of  the  act  was  possible. 

26.  Had  Christ's  offering  been  repeated,  he  must  have  undergone 
repeated  deaths;  whereas  men  die  but  once,  vs.  27.  Had  he  offered 
repeatedly,  it  must  have  been  some  lesser  offering  than  that  which 

84 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  lo  :  i 

27.  self.    And  inasmuch  as  it  is  ^  appointed  unto  men  once 

28.  to  die,  and  after  this  c£7W6//z  °judgment;  so  °Christ  also, 
having  been  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many, 

°shall  appear  a  second  time,  °apart  from  sin,  to  them  isa.  53 :  la 
that  wait  for  him,  unto  salvation. 

3.    The   Final  and  Eternal  Efficacy  of  Christ^ s  Sacrifice, 
10  :  1-18. 

10.  For  the  law  having  °a  shadow  of  °the  good  things 
to  come,  not  °the  very  image  of  the  things,  °^they  can 
never  with  °the  same  sacrifices  year  by  year,  which  they 
offer   continually,  °make     perfect    °them   that    draw 

'  Gr.  laid  up  for.      '  SV  om.  (hey;  some  ancient  authorities  read  it  can. 


he  did  make.  Once.  The  emphasis  is  upon  the  one  sacrifice,  con- 
trasted with  the  many  of  the  old  high  priesthood.  The  end  of  the 
ages.  As  in  I  :  2,  the  end  of  these  days.  Put  away.  Better,  bring 
to  nought.  By  the  sacrifice  of  himself.  Better,  through  his  sac- 
rifice. 

27.  The  famiUar  fact  that  man  dies  but  once  is  cited  in  proof  of 
the  reasonableness  of  Christ's  offering  but  once,  since  the  sacrifice 
was  himself.  Judgment.  That,  and  not  a  new  existence  upon 
earth,  is  the  invariable  sequel  of  human  life.  How  absurd  then  to 
think  of  Christ's  offering  himself  more  than  once. 

28.  Christ.  Better,  The  Christ.  Shall  not  indeed  again  live 
the  life  of  man  and  offer  himself  to  God,  but  appear  a  second  time, 
apart  from  sin.  Cf.  i  :  6.  While  other  men  go  on  from  death  to 
judgment,  Christ's  future  work  is  to  fulfil,  to  them  that  wait  for  him, 
the  salvation  upon  which  they  have  entered  here. 

I.  A  shadow.  A  word  made  emphatic  in  the  Greek  by  being 
put  first  in  the  sentence.  The  law  had  only  a  shadow  of  the  full 
redemption,  not  the  redemption  itself.  The  good  things  to  come. 
The  full  salvation  revealed  in  the  Gospel.  The  very  image. 
What  appears  to  the  eye  fixed  on  the  reality  which  casts  the 
shadow.  They  can  never.  Rather,  Can  never.  The  law  can  never. 
The  same  sacrifices  year  by  year  .  .  .  continually.  The  repeti- 
tion of  the  sacrifices,  here  strongly  emphasized,  brings  out  the  fact 
that  they  could  not  collectively,  any  more  than  individually,  perfect 

85 


10  :  2  EPISTLE  TO   THE   HEBREWS 

2.  nigh.     Else  would  they  not  have  ceased  to  be  offered, 
because  the  worshippers,  having  been  °once  cleansed, 

3.  would  have  had  no  more  °^ conscience  of  sins?     °But 
in  those  sacrifices  there  is  °a  remembrance  made  of 

4.  sins  year  by  year.     For  it  is  impossible  that  the  blood 

5.  of  bulls  and  goats  should  take  away  sins.     ^Wherefore 
°when  he  cometh  into  the  world,  °he  saith, 

Ps.  40 : 6-8  Sacrifice  and  offering  °thou  wouldest  not, 

°But  a  body  didst  thou  prepare  for  me; 

"  SV  consciousness. 

their  offerers.  Make  perfect.  Cf.  7:19,  The  law  perfected  nothing. 
Them  that  draw  nigh.  I.e.,  to  offer  sacrifice.  Primarily  the  oflSci- 
ating  priests,  but  here  probably  including  those  for  whom  they  sacri- 
ficed. 

2.  The  writer  finds  in  the  repetition  only  an  acknowledgment 
of  inadequacy.  If  the  Levitical  sacrifices  could  have  perfected  the 
worshippers  in  conscience,  they  would  have  completed  their  work 
and  ceased  to  take  place.  Once  cleansed.  In  reality  no  cleansing 
at  all  took  place,  except  of  certain  offences  against  ritual;  moral 
transgressicrns,  the  only  real  ones,  were  unaffected.  Conscience. 
I.e.,  Consciousness. 

3.  But.  On  the  contrary,  so  far  from  effecting  the  blotting  out 
of  sins.  A  remembrance  made  .  .  .  year  by  year.  The  annually 
recurring  sacrifice  was  but  an  annual  reminder  of  sins  committed, 
unattended  with  any  real  cleansing  virtue. 

4.  In  this  downright  statement  the  writer  sets  forth  his  view  of 
Levitical  religion.  Cf.  Hosea's  words,  quoted  by  Jesus,  I  desire 
mercy  and  not  sacrifice,  Matt.  9  :  13;  12  :  7;  Hos.  6  :  6.  The  writer 
feels  the  difficulty  of  assigning  a  moral  effect  to  a  physical  act. 

5.  Wherefore.  The  efficacy  of  Christ's  sacrifice  of  himself 
and  the  inefiicacy  of  animal  sacrifice  explain  the  Messianic  oracle  of 
Ps.  40 :  6-8.  When  he  cometh  into  the  world.  The  oracle  is 
understood  by  the  writer  Messianically,  as  expressing  the  spirit  of 
Christ  in  entering  the  world,  and  is  used  in  the  free,  uncritical,  poetic 
way  characteristic  of  the  writer  in  dealing  with  the  Old  Testament. 
He  saith.  That  is,  the  Messiah.  Thou  wouldest  not.  In  these 
words  the  psalmist  sets  aside  material  sacrifice  as  of  little  worth  in 
the  sight  of  God.  But  a  body.  The  writer's  habit  of  following 
the  LXX  here  gives  him  a  widely  different  sense  from  that  of  the 

86 


EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS  lo  :  9 

6.  In  whole  burnt  offerings  and  sacrifices  for  sin  thou 

°hadst  no  pleasure: 

7.  Then  said  I,  Lo,  °I  am  come 

(In  the  roll  of  the  book  °it  is  written  of  me) 
°To  do  thy  will,  O  God. 

8.  °Saying  above,  °Sacrifices  and  offerings  and  whole 
burnt  offerings  and  sacrifices  for  sin  thou  wouldest  not, 
neither  hadst  pleasure  therein  (the  °which  are  offered 

9.  according  to  the  law),  °then  hath  he  said,  Lo,  I  am 

Hebrew,  at  least  as  we  have  it.  The  Hebrew  reads,  Mine  ears  hast 
thou  opened,  and  means  that  instead  of  sacrifice,  obedience  to  the 
voice  of  God  is  what  he  desires.  The  whole  oracle  would  thus  be 
a  setting  aside  of  all  sacrificial  ritual,  in  favor  of  a  life  of  spiritual 
obedience  to  the  will  of  God.  As  read  in  the  LXX,  however,  and 
quoted  here,  the  words  A  body  didst  thou  prepare  for  me  give  a  differ- 
ent turn  to  the  whole,  which  here  means,  not  the  discontinuance  of 
sacrifice  and  offering,  but  the  substitution  for  them  of  another  offer- 
ing, that  of  the  body  of  the  Messiah,  which  has  been  prepared  for 
him  and  which  he  gives  up  to  the  will  of  God.  The  body  that  is 
prepared  is  that  in  which  the  Messiah  becomes  man  and  enters  the 
world,  in  which  too  he  suffers,  and  offers  to  God  the  only  effectual 
sacrifice. 

6.  Hadst  no  pleasure.  The  Old  Testament  itself  thus  con- 
demns the  Levitical  system  as  incapable  of  pleasing  God. 

7.  I  am  come  .  .  !  to  do  thy  will.  I.e.,  in  the  body  thou  hast 
prepared  for  me,  I  am  come  to  do  thy  will  on  earth,  and  offer  myself 
as  the  sacrifice  which  alone  can  please  thee.  It  is  written  of  me. 
This  is  the  task  and  duty  which  God's  law  has  for  me.  To  do  thy 
will.  To  offer  myself,  in  accordance  with  God's  will,  the  only  ac- 
ceptable and  effectual  sacrifice  that  can  be  made  to  him. 

8.  The  writer  proceeds  to  expound  the  oracle  quoted.  Saying 
above  .  .  .  then  hath  he  said.  Better,  He  (the  Messiah) 
saith  above  .  .  .  and  then  he  said.  Sacrifices  .  .  .  whole  burnt 
offerings.  The  clauses  of  the  oracle  relating  to  Levitical  sacrifice 
are  here  combined,  to  present  God's  unfavorable  verdict  upon  it, 
in  direct  contrast  with  the  Messiah's  offering,  implied  in  the  words, 
Lo,  I  am  come  to  do  thy  will,  vs.  9.  Which  are  offered  according 
to  the  law.  These  four  groups  fairly  cover  Levitical  sacrifice.  God 
thus,  through  this  Messianic  oracle,  disclaims  the  old  sacrificial 
ritual. 

9.  Then  hath  he  said.     The  writer  points  out  the  prompt  re- 

87 


10  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

come  to  do  thy  will.     °He  taketh  away  the  first,  that 

10.  he  may  establish  the  second.  °^  By  which  will  we 
have  been  sanctified  through  °the  offering  of  the  body 

11.  of  Jesus  Christ  °once  for  all.  And  °every  Spriest 
indeed  °standeth  °day  by  day  ministering  and  offer- 
ing °oftentimes  the  same  sacrifices,   the  which  °can 

12.  °never  take  away  sins:   but  °he,  when  he  had  offered 
^°'^  °one  sacrifice  for  ^sins  for  ever,  °sat   down   °on  the 

I  Or,  In  '  Some  ancient  authorities  read  high  priest.  3  Or,  sins,  forever  sat 
down  etc. 

joinder  of  the  Messiah  to  his  own  assertion  of  God's  dissatisfaction 
with  the  old  sacrifices.  It  is  as  though  he  said:  "  O  God,  thou  hast 
no  pleasure  in  these.  Levitical  offerings,  but  here  am  I,  ready  to  do 
thy  will."  It  is  precisely  then,  when  the  divine  discontent  with 
Leviticalism  has  been  most  positively  stated,  that  the  Messiah  offers 
himself  to  the  will  of  God.  He  taketh  away  the  first.  In  this 
oracle,  the  writer  finds  foreshadowed  the  superseding  of  the  old 
order  of  sacrifice  by  the  new,  eternal,  only  acceptable  offering  of 
Christ. 

10.  By  which  will.  I.e.,  thy  will,  mentioned  above.  In  offer- 
ing himself  to  the  di\ane  will,  and  doing  that  will,  Christ  has  wrought 
a  sanctification  in  which  his  brethren  now  share;  they  are  sanctified 
through  his  once-offered  sacrifice.  The  offering  of  the  body. 
Words  taken  from  the  oracle  just  quoted.  Once  for  all.  Again 
the  solitariness  of  Christ's  offering  is  emphasized. 

11.  The  mean,  tedious,  and  futile  character  of  the  old  ministry 
is  concisely  put.  Every  priest.  They  were  many.  Standeth. 
The  posture  of  the  inferior  and  menial.  Day  by  day  ministering. 
Tedious  repetition  of  an  interminable  service.  Oftentimes  the 
same  sacrifices.  The  ritual  had  to  be  repeated  again  and  again, 
without  progress  or  development,  a  servile  and  lifeless  task.  Can 
never  take  away  sins.  The  climax  is  reached.  All  this  tedious, 
sordid  formalism  was  futile  and  to  no  purpose,  for  it  lacked  just  that 
moral  quality  necessary  to  affect  the  sinful  heart.  Never.  No 
matter  how  oft  repeated  or  long  continued. 

12.  Contrast  the  Messianic  priest.  He.  Christ.  One  sacri- 
fice .  .  .  for  ever.  In  contrast  with  the  ever-repeated  but  never- 
effectual  sacrifices  of  the  many  Levitical  priests.'  Sat  down.  Took 
his  seat,  in  royal  state.  On  the  right  hand  of  God.  Thus  in 
supreme  contrast  to  those  Jewish  priests,  forever  busied  with  their 

88 


34 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  lo  :  i6 

13.  right  hand  of  God;   °Mrom  henceforth  expecting  till 

14.  his  enemies  be  made  the  footstool  of  his  feet.     For  °by 
one  offering  °he  hath  perfected  °for  ever  them  that 

15.  are  °sanctified.     And  °the  Holy  Ghost  also  °beareth 
witness  to  us :  for  °after  he  hath  said, 

16.  This  is  the  ^covenant  that  ^I  will  make  with  them  J"- 31: 33, 
After  those  days,  saith  the  Lord; 
I  will  put  my  laws  on  their  heart, 
And  upon  their  mind  also  will  I  write  them; 

then  saith  he, 


'  SV  om.  from.      '  Or,  testament      Gr.  I  will  covenant. 

trivial  and  revolting  toil.  The  words  are  those  of  the  psalmist, 
Ps.  no  :  I,  often  before  applied  bv  the  writer  to  Jesus,  1:3,  13; 
8:1. 

13.  The  verse  completes  the  picture  of  the  sublime  exaltation  of 
the  Messianic  priest.  His  work  accomplished,  he  av/aits,  in  serene 
dignity,  the  promised  humiliation  of  his  foes.  From  henceforth. 
From  the  time  when  he  took  his  seat.  Beside  such  a  figure,  at  once 
king  and  priest,  how  mean  and  unworthy  those  Levite  priests  appear, 
always  busy  with  their  petty  and  futile  tasks. 

14.  By  one  offering.  Where  Leviticalism  prescribed  thousands 
and  millions,  a  well-nigh  infinite  number.  He  hath  perfected. 
As  all  the  toil  of  all  the  priests  of  the  old  religion  had  failed  to  do, 
for  the  law  perfected  nothing,  7  :  19.  For  ever.  His  offering  is 
final  and  fully  adequate.  Sanctified.  That  is,  brought  into  cove- 
nant relations  with  God. 

15.  In  support  of  the  afl&rmation  just  made,  vs.  14,  the  writer 
appeals  again  to  words  of  Jeremiah,  quoted  in  8  :  10-12.  The  Holy 
Ghost.  As  in  9 :  8.  Beareth  witness  to  us.  I.e.,  heareth  us 
witness,  attests  for  us  the  truth  of  what  has  just  been  said.  After 
he  hath  said.  No  principal  affirmation  appears  in  the  sentence 
unless,  as  some  think,  it  be  the  Saith  the  Lord,  of  vs.  16.  But  the  real 
emphasis  of  the  citation  belongs  on  vs.  17,  so  that  it  is  probable  that 
a  word  of  quotation  should  be  supplied  at  that  point,  as  in  the  English. 

16.  A  comparison  with  the  same  passage  as  it  appears  in  8  :  10-12 
will  show  that  six  clauses  of  the  oracle  are  omitted  at  the  end  of  vs. 
16,  the  purpose  being  to  bring  the  promised  oblivion  of  sin  into  the 
closest  connection  with  the  promise  of  the  new  covenant  with  its 
inward  law. 

89 


10  :  17  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

17.  And  their  sins  and  their  iniquities  will  I  remember 

°no  more. 

18.  Now  where  remission  of  these  is,  there  is  no  more 
offering  for  sin. 

4.   Exhortation   to   draw   near    and    hold  fast,    reenforced 

by  solemn  warnings   against  apostasy,   and  by 

reminders  of  former  heroic  days,  10  :  19-39. 

19.  °Having    °therefore,    brethren,    °boldness    to    enter 

20.  into  °the  holy  place  °by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  °by  the 
way  which  he  dedicated  for  us,  a  new  and  living  way, 

17.  No  more.  The  promise  of  eternal  forgiveness  of  sin  and 
iniquity  forms  an  integral  part  of  the  promise  of  the  new  covenant. 
When  God  writes  his  law  on  men's  hearts,  he  will  forget  their  sins 
forever. 

18.  This  promise  of  eternal  forgiveness  and  forgetfulness  of  sin 
shows  the  needlessness  of  further  sacrifice,  and  thus  confirms  the 
teaching  of  the  finality  and  eternal  adequacy  of  Christ's  one  sacrifice, 
about  the  far-reaching  effects  of  which  the  writer  seems  to  think  his 
readers  may  still  have  misgivings.  Hence  his  appeal  to  this  oracle, 
already  once  used  in  the  epistle,  as  showing  that  under  the  new  cov- 
enant sins  are  forgiven  forever,  and  therefore  no  further  offerings 
are  to  be  made;  which  can  only  mean  that  the  offering  that  has  been 
made  has  eternally  sufficed.  Vss.  15-18  thus  bring  the  Old  Testa- 
ment to  witness  to  the  statement  made  in  vs.  14,  to  which  they  con- 
stitute a  sort  of  confirmatory  appendix. 

Exhortation  to  Christian  confidence  and  steadfastness,  10  :  19-25. 

19.  Having.  Since  we  have.  Therefore.  In  view  of  the  whole 
preceding  argument.  Boldness  to  enter.  In  contrast  with  the  old 
prohibition  against  entering  the  sanctuary.  The  holy  place.  Of 
the  eternal  tabernacle,  i.e.,  the  very  presence  of  God.  By  the  blood 
of  Jesus.  To  be  connected  with  since  we  have  boldness.  The  sac- 
rificial blood  of  Jesus  enabled  him  to  enter  there,  and  as  his  sacrifice 
is  forever  adequate,  and  he  entered  as  our  forerunner,  we  have  free 
access  to  the  divine  presence  by  his  blood. 

20.  By  the  way.  To  be  connected  with  to  enter,  vs.  19.  The 
sense  is,  Since  by  the  blood  of  Jesus  we  have  boldness  for  the  en- 
trance of  the  sanctuary,  an  entrance  which  he  dedicated  for  us,  fresh 
and  living,  through  the  veil,  that  is,  his  flesh.     The  figure  is  drawn 

90 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  lo  :  24 

21.  through  °the  veil,  that  is  to  say,  his  flesh;   °and  having 

22.  °a  great  priest  °over  the  house  of  God;  °let  us  draw  zech.  6:1 
near  with  a  true  heart  in  °^  fulness  of  faith,  having  ^^^' " ' 
°our  hearts  sprinkled  °from  an  evil  ^conscience,  and 

23.  °our  body  washed  with  pure  water:    let  us  °hold  fast 
°the  confession  of  our  hope  °that  it  waver  not;  for  °he 

24.  is   faithful  that   promised:    and  let  us   consider   one 

Or,  full  assurance  '  SV  conscience;  and  having  our  body  washed  with  pure 
water,  let  us  hold  fast 

from  the  old  Levitical  high  priest  passing  within  the  veil  of  the  Most 
Holy  place,  with  the  consecrating  blood.  As  his  entering  in  was 
dedicated  by  that  blood,  Christ's  entering,  and  his  followers'  after 
him,  is  by  his  own  blood.  The  veil,  that  is  to  say,  his  flesh.  A 
poetic  touch,  forceful  and  beautiful,  but  not  to  be  pressed  into  undue 
significance. 

21.  And  having.  As  above,  since  we  have.  A  great  priest. 
The  reference  now  is  probably  to  the  intercessory  work  of  the  exalted 
Christ;  cf.  7  :  25.  Over  the  house  of  God.  Cf.  3  :  5,  Christ  (was 
faithful)  as  a  son  over  his  {i.e.,  God's)  house. 

22.  Let  us  draw  near.  The  writer  returns  to  his  great  practical 
purpose,  to  stimulate  his  readers  to  lay  hold  of  the  great  salvation 
that  is  theirs,  and  avail  themselves  of  that  unrestricted  fellowship 
with  God  which  Jesus  has  made  possible  for  them.  Fulness.  Bet- 
ter, full  assurance.  Our  hearts  sprinkled.  As  the  priests  were 
sprinkled  of  old,  Ex.  29  :  21 ;  Lev.  8  :  30.  From  an  evil  conscience. 
The  sprinkling  cleanses  and  thus  frees  from  the  sense  of  sin.  Our 
body  washed.  As  the  priests  washed  before  ministering,  Ex.  29  :  4; 
30  :  20.  The  reference  here  is  probably  to  Christian  baptism,  poet- 
ically interpreted  as  a  purification  of  the  Christian  priest  preliminary 
to  his  ministering  to  God.  Sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  Christ,  and 
thus  cleansed  from  inward  stain,  and  washed  with  the  waters  of  bap- 
tism, and  thus  outwardly  clean,  he  is  ready  to  minister  to  God  in  the 
sanctuary  into  which  Jesus  has  forever  opened  the  way. 

23.  Hold  fast.  The  writer's  most  frequent  admonition,  implying 
that  his  readers  are  in  danger  of  falling  away,  through  indifference  or 
persecution.  The  confession  of  our  hope.  Or,  the  confession  of 
hope.  That  it  waver  not.  Lit.,  unwavering.  He  .  .  .  that  prom- 
ised.    God.     On  the  promises,  cf.  4  :  i;    8:6;    9  :  15. 

24.  More  exactly.  Let  us  observe  one  another,  for,  i.e.,  with  a  view 
to,  provocation  of  love  and  noble  deeds.     The  idea  is  not  to  provoke 

91 


10  :  25  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

25.  another  to  provoke  unto  love  and  good  works;  °not 
forsaking  °^  the  assembling  of  ourselves  together,  °as 
the  custom  of  some  is,  but  °exhorting  one  another; 
and  so  much  the  more,  as  °ye  see  the  day  drawing 
nigh. 

26.  For  if  we  °sin  wilfully  after  that  we  have  received 
°the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  there  remaineth  °no  more 

27.  a  sacrifice  for  sins,  but  a  certain  fearful  expectation 
isa.  26 :  II  of  judgment,  and   a    °^  fierceness  of   fire  which   shall 

LXX. 

'  SV  our  oivn  assembling  together.      ^  Or,  jealousy 

one  another  to  love,  but  by  observing  others  to  stimulate  one's  self 
to  love  and  helpfulness. 

25.  Not  forsaking.  Or,  And  let  us  not  forsake.  The  assembling 
of  ourselves  together.  Or,  our  own  assembling  together.  As  the 
custom  of  some  is.  The  reference  is  probably  to  the  open  with- 
drawal of  some  members  from  Christian  fellowship,  in  which  the 
writer  sees  grave  peril.  Exhorting.  Or,  Let  us  exhort,  encourage. 
Ye  see  the  day  drawing  nigh.  It  is  implied  that  signs  portending 
the  Lord's  return  were  already  to  be  seen.  The  day,  used  by  itself 
for  the  Messianic  Day  of  the  prophets,  the  apocalyptists,  and  the 
early  Christians,  is  unusual,  but  is  found  in  i  Thess.  5  :  4,  and  per- 
haps in  Rom.  13  :  12.  Early  Christians  lived  in  constant  expectation 
of  that  day,  when  Jesus  would  return  to  judge  the  world  and  estab- 
lish his  kingdom,  and  these  readers  perhaps  found  definite  tokens 
of  its  approach  in  the  perils  threatening  them. 

The  dreadful  penalty  of  apostasy,  10  :  26-31. 

26.  Sin.  That  is,  go  on  sinning.  The  knowledge.  Better,  the 
full  knowledge.  Full  knowledge  of  the  will  of  God  and  the  great  sal- 
vation imposes  a  fearful  responsibility.  No  more  a  sacrifice.  The 
single  sacrifice  once  oS'ered  by  Christ  admits  of  no  repetition.  This 
is  the  solemn  corollary  of  the  doctrine  of  the  eternal  efficacy  of  that 
one  offering.  The  writer  here  returns  to  the  tone  of  warning  used 
in  2  :  3;  4  :  i;    6  :  4,  8. 

27.  Fierceness  of  fire  which  shall  devour.  Or,  Fiery  jealousy 
which  is  to  devour.  The  writer  seems  to  transfer  to  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ  the  Old  Testament  teaching  that  sacrifice  is  accepted  only 
for  sins  of  ignorance.  For  sins  committed  after  coming  to  the  full 
knowledge  of  the  truth  it  cannot  avail.  Yet  it  is  not  impossible  that 
his  meaning  here  is,  that  since  these  apostates  repudiate  the  sacrifice 

92 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  lo  :  32 

28.  devour  the  adversaries.  A  man  that  hath  set  at  nought 
Moses'  law  dieth  without  compassion  on  the  word  of 

29.  two  or  three  witnesses:  °of  how  much  sorer  punish- 
ment, think  ye,  shall  he  be  judged  worthy,  who  hath 
trodden  under  foot  °the  Son  of  God,  and  hath  counted 

*^the  blood  of  the  covenant,  wherewith  he  was  sane-  Ex.  24 : 8 
tified,  ^  an    °unholy   thing,    and     hath   done    °despite 

30.  unto  the  Spirit  of  grace  ?  °For  we  know  him  that  said, 
^Vengeance   belongeth   unto   me,   I   will   recompense.   Deut.32:35; 

31.  And  again,  The  Lord  shall  judge  his  people.     It  is  a  Ps^lasV^ 
fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God. 

^2.       But  call  to  remembrance  the  former  days,  in  which, 

»  Gr.  a  common  thing. 

which  Christ    has  offered,  and  there  is  no  other    to  be  thought  of, 
they  are  defenceless  and  inexcusable  before  the  wrath  of  God. 

28.  Death  by  stoning  was  the  penalty  for  the  violation  of  the  cove- 
nant established  by  Moses.     Cf.  Deut.  17  :  2,  6. 

29.  Of  how  much  sorer  punishment.  The  a  fortiori  argument, 
as  in  2  :  2  f .  ;  9  :  13  f . ;  12:25.  Death  was  the  penalty  under  the  old 
Law;  under  the  new  covenant,  so  much  greater  in  every  way,  corre- 
spondingly greater  penalties  will  be  imposed.  The  Son  of  God.  The 
apostate  tramples  upon,  i.e.,  publicly  rejects,  him  whom  God  has 
most  highly  exalted.  The  blood  of  the  covenant  .  .  .  unholy. 
He  has  treated  the  sacrificial,  consecrating  blood  of  Jesus  as  a  pro- 
fane and  common  thing.  Despite  unto  the  Spirit.  His  crowning 
act  of  impiety,  in  despising  that  present  guiding  and  sustaining  spirit, 
which  was  the  gift  of  grace  and  the  pledge  of  divine  fellowship.  Cf. 
Mark  3  :  28-30. 

30.  For.  In  support  of  the  sorer  punishment  to  be  expected,  the 
writer  quotes  from  the  Old  Testament  texts  setting  forth  God's  re- 
tributive justice.  Vengeance  belongeth  unto  me.  Quoted  in  the 
form  neither  of  the  Hebrew  nor  of  the  LXX,  but  of  Rom.  12  :  19, 
perhaps  through  the  influence  of  that  epistle,  which  was  pretty  cer- 
tainly known  to  the  writer,  but  more  probably  because  the  text  was 
current  in  this  Greek  form. 

31.  With  this  telling  sentence  the  writer  takes  leave  of  this  dark 
theme,  leaving  his  readers  to  imagine  for  themselves  what  doom  such 
a  being  may  have  in  store  for  the  apostate. 

93 


33  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

°after  ye  were  enlightened,  ye  endured  °a  great  con- 

33.  flict  of  sufferings;  partly,  being  made  a  °gazingstock 
both  by  reproaches  and  afflictions ;  and  partly,  becoming 

34.  °partakers  with  them  that  were  so  used.  For  ye  both 
had  compassion  on  °them  that  were  in  bonds,  and 
took  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  your  possessions,  knowing 
^  that  ^  ye  yourselves  have   °a  better  possession  and 

35.  °an  abiding  one.     Cast  not  away  therefore  your  bold- 

36.  ness,  which  hath  great  recompense  of  reward.  For 
ye  have  need  of  ^patience,  that,  having  done  the  will 
of  God,  ye  may  receive  the  promise. 

6 :  20     37.       For  yet  a  very  little  while, 

3 :  3,  4  He  that  cometh  shall  come,  and  shall  not  tarry. 

'  Or,  that  ye  liave  your  own  selves  for  a  better  possession.  '  SV  with  some  ancient 
authorities  reads  ye  have  for  yourselves  a  better  possession.        3  SVm  stedfaslness. 

Stirring  reminder  of  former  heroism,  10  :  32-39. 

32.  The  writer  seeks  to  rouse  his  readers  to  steadfastness  and 
devotion,  by  reminding  them  of  their  heroic  past.  After  ye  were 
enlightened.  I.e.,  soon  after  accepting  Christ.  A  great  confiict 
of  sufferings.  The  reference  is  to  the  persecution  under  Nero,  which 
formed  an  early  and  terrible  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  Roman 
church. 

2,T).  Gazingstock.  Better,  a  spectacle.  Public  exposure  to  abuse 
and  hardship  had  been  experienced.  Partakers.  Sharing  the  dis- 
grace and  distress  of  their  imperilled  brethren. 

34.  Imprisonment  and  confiscation  had  not  deterred  the  readers 
in  those  early  days  of  their  faith.  Them  that  were  in  bonds.  Gk. 
the  prisoners.  A  better  possession.  Than  those  which  have  been 
torn  from  them.  An  abiding  one.  This  introduces  the  thought, 
later  emphasized,  that  the  Christian  has  an  abiding  city  and  inherit- 
ance, far  better  than  the  fleeting  property  and  abode  of  this  world. 

35.  This  former  joyful  confidence  of  theirs,  which  carries  with 
it  such  recompense,  is  not  to  be  abandoned  now. 

36.  Steadfastness  and  endurance  are  still  necessary,  in  order  to 
attain  the  promised  salvation  in  its  fulness. 

37.  The  struggle  is  not  to  be  of  long  duration,  as  the  writer  as- 
sures them  in  language  taken  from  the  prophets  and  somewhat  freely 
rearranged.     This  is  perhaps  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  writer 

94 


EPISTLE   TO   THE    HEBREWS  lo  :  39 

38.  But  ^  my  righteous  one  shall  live  by  faith : 

And  if  he  shrink  back,  my  soul  hath  no  pleasure  in 
him. 

39.  But  °we  are  not  °^of  them  that  shrink  back  unto  per- 
dition ;  but  °of  them  that  have  faith  unto  °the  ^  saving 
of  the  soul. 


'  Some   ancient   authorities  read  the  righteous  one.      '  Gr.  of  shrinking  back 
but  of  faith.       i  Or,  gaining 


is  not  appealing  to  these  as  oracles,  but  is  appropriating  their  familiar 
words  to  express  his  own  thought  of  the  speedy  coming  of  Christ. 
The  prophecy  of  Habakkuk,  with  its  emphasis  upon  faith,  as  con- 
trasted with  cowardly  retreat  and  apostasy,  is  skilfully  made  to  serve 
as  a  transition  to  the  great  discourse  on  the  heroes  of  faith. 

39.  We  are  not.  The  affirmation  has  the  force  of  an  exhorta- 
tion, and  more.  The  writer  will  not  permit  himself  to  think  that  his 
readers  are  liable  to  so  cowardly  and  fatal  a  blunder.  Of  them  that 
shrink  back.  Lit.,  of  withdrawal.  Of  them  that  have  faith.  Lit., 
of  faith.  The  saving  of  the  soul.  Preserving  of  soul,  or  perhaps 
better,  obtaining  of  life,  i.e.,  in  the  Messianic  world. 


95 


V.   The  Character   of    Faith,   as   the   Faculty   of 

Laying   Firm  Hold   on    the    Unseen  Realities, 

exemplified  in    all  the   Heroes    of  Faith, 

AND  preeminently  IN  JeSUS,  SET  FORTH 

with   especial    reference   to    the 
Trials  of  the  Readers,  which 
ARE  THE  Discipline  of  their 
Faith,  not  its  Disappoint- 
ment,   II  :  I-I2  :  29. 

II  :  I         I.    Faith  the  power   through   which  those  of  old  wrought 
their  achievements,  and  gained  God's  cormnendation,  1 1 : 1-40. 

11.       Now  faith  is  ^  the  assurance  of  things  hoped  for, 

2.  ^  the   ^  proving   of    things   not   seen.     For   therein    the 

3.  elders  had  witness  borne  to  them.  By  faith  we  °under- 
stand  that  the  °^  worlds  have  been  framed  by  °the 
word  of  God,  so  that  what  is  seen  °hath  not  been  made 

I  Or,  the  giving  substance  to;  SV  assurance,  om.  the  '  SV  a  conviction  3  Or, 
test      *  Gr.  ages. 

The  nature  of  faith  seen  in  the  experiences  of  God's  first  servants, 
II  :  I-I2. 

1.  Not  to  be  understood  as  a  full  definition  of  faith,  but  as  a  help- 
ful and  suggestive  characterization  of  it.  Faith  is  assurance  of  what 
we  hope  for,  conviction  (lit.,  proof)  of  things  that  we  do  not  see.  The 
readers  should  not  be  disappointed  at  not  having  already  realized  all 
the  promises,  since  this  laying  hold  of  the  ideal,  unseen  world  is  the 
very  task  and  province  of  faith. 

2.  It  was  faith  that  won  for  the  worthies  of  old  the  divine  com- 
mendation which  the  scriptures  record. 

3.  It  is  faith  that  enables  us  to  perceive  God's  relation  to  the 
world.  Understand.  Better,  perceive.  "Worlds.  I.e.,  the  succes- 
sive ages  of  the  world's  development.  The  word  of  God.  His  crea- 
tive utterance,  as  set  forth  in  Gen.  i  :  1-3 1.     Hath  not  been  made. 

96 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  11:5 

4.  out  of  things  which  ^  do  appear.      °By  faith  Abel  of-  Gen.  4 : 4 
fered  unto  God  a  °more  excellent  sacrifice  than  Cain, 
^through   which   he   had   °witness   borne   to   him   that 

he  was  righteous,  ^God   bearing  witness  °^in   respect 
of  his  gifts :  and  ^through  it  °he  being  dead  yet  speaketh. 

5.  °By  faith    Enoch  was   translated    that    he   should    not  Gen.  5:24 
see  death;    and  he  was  not  found,  because  God  trans- 
lated  him:    for   ^before  his  translation  he   °hath   had 
witness  borne  to  him  that  he  had   been  °well-pleasing 

»  SV  om.  do.  '  The  Greek  text  in  this  clause  is  somewhat  uncertain.  3  Or, 
over  his  gifts  iSW  he  hath  had  witness  borne  to  him  that  before  his  translation 
he  had  been  etc. 

Or,  hath  not  arisen.  The  thought  is,  not  that  the  creation  was  neces- 
sarily out  of  nothing,  but  that  faith  forbids  a  merely  material  inter- 
pretation of  the  physical  and  the  historical  world,  and  convinces  us 
of  God's  creative  and  directive  activity. 

4.  The  Old  Testament  verdict  upon  Abel  was  due  to  his  faith, 
because  of  which  even  death  could  not  silence  his  voice.  By  faith. 
Just  wherein  this  lay  the  writer  does  not  definitely  say;  perhaps  in 
the  fact  that  Abel's  offering  was  greater,  and  thus  reflected  a  greater 
sense  of  the  worth  and  demands  of  the  unseen  world.  More  excel- 
lent. Better,  larger,  greater,  more  abundant.  Through  which. 
I.e.,  either  through  the  sacrifice,  or  through  his  faith,  shown  in  the 
sacrifice;  probably  the  latter.  Witness  borne  to  him  that  he  was 
righteous.  Not  specifically  in  the  Old  Testament,  but  impliedly 
there,  as  Jewish  tradition  understood;  cf.  Abel  the  righteous.  Matt. 
23:  35)  I  John  3  :  12.  In  respect  of  his  gifts.  I.e.,  on  the  occasion 
of,  in  the  case  of,  his  gifts.  Cf.  Gen.  4:  4.  God's  approval  of  Abel's 
offering  implied  his  acceptance  of  Abel  himself  as  righteous. 
Through  it.  Through  faith.  He  being  dead  yet  speaketh.  That 
is,  even  when  he  was  dead,  Abel  still  spoke,  for  God  heard  his 
voice  calling  to  him  from  the  ground.  Gen.  4  :  10.  This  supplies 
additional  evidence  that  God  accounted  him  righteous.  Cf.  Ps.  116  : 
15;    Luke  18  :  7;  Rev.  6  :  9,  10. 

5.  Enoch,  too,  through  his  faith  escaped  death.  By  faith.  The 
Old  Testament  says  nothing  of  Enoch's  faith,  but  states  that  he 
pleased  God,  for  so  the  LXX  reads  in  Gen.  5  :  24,  instead  of  the  Heb. 
walked  with  God.  His  translation  is  interpreted  by  the  writer  to 
mean  that  he  was  enabled  to  escape  the  universal  fate  of  death  and 
was  removed  to  the  presence  of  God.     Hath  had  witness  borne. 

H  97 


II  :  6  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

6.  unto  God :  and  without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  be  well- 
pleasing  unto  him:  °for  he  that  °cometh  to  God  °must 
believe  that  he  is,  and  that  he  is  a  rewarder  of  them  °that 

Gen.  6 :  13-  7.  seek  after  him.  °By  faith  Noah,  being  warned  of  God 
concerning  things  not  seen  as  yet,  °moved  with  godly 
fear,  °prepared  an  ark  to  the  saving  of  his  house; 
°through  which  °he  condemned  the  world,  and  °became 
heir  of  °the   righteousness  which  is  according  to  faith. 

Gen.  12 : 1  8.  °By  faith  Abraham,  when  he  was  called,  °obeyed 
°to  go  out  unto  a  place  which  he  was  to  receive  for  an 

He  is  thus  among  the  certified  or  attested  ones  mentioned  in  vs.  2. 
Well-pleasing.     As  stated  in  the  LXX,  Gen.  5  :  24. 

6.  In  proof  that  it  was  the  faith  of  Enoch  that  made  him  pleasing 
to  God,  the  writer  shows  that  what  is  said  of  him  positively  implies 
faith.  Without  it  he  could  not  have  pleased  God,  as  he  did.  For. 
In  support  of  the  general  statement  just  made.  Cometh  to  God. 
Draws  near,  seeks  to  approach.  Must  believe.  Else  he  would  not 
seek  to  approach  him.  Believe  (pisteuo)  is  in  the  Gr.  the  verb  akin 
to  the  word  faith  (pistis),  and  we  may  render  7nust  have  faith.  That 
seek  after  him.     Or,  that  seek  him  out,  seek  him  earnestly. 

7.  The  faith  and  righteousness  of  Abel  and  Enoch  must  be  in- 
ferred from  what  is  said  in  scripture,  but  of  Noah  it  is  expressly 
stated  that  he  was  a  righteous  man,  perfect  in  his  generations,  Gen. 
6:9;  cf.  7:1.  By  faith  Noah  .  .  .  prepared  an  ark.  There  was 
no  visible  occasion  for  the  ark  when  he  prepared  it,  so  that  his  action 
was  strictly  controlled  by  the  consciousness  of  the  unseen.  Moved 
with  godly  fear.  Or  simply,  providently.  Through  which.  I.e., 
through  which  faith.  He  condemned  the  world.  Noah,  by  his  act 
in  building  the  ark,  virtually  pronounced  doom  upon  the  rest  of  man- 
kind, since  the  ark  could  have  no  significance  apart  from  the  im- 
pending retributive  catastrophe.  Became  heir.  To  be  connected 
with  through  which  faith.  Wisd.  10  :  4.  The  righteousness  which 
is  according  to  faith.  The  righteousness,  or  justification,  accord- 
ing to  faith,  here  ascribed  to  Noah,  strongly  suggests  Paul's  view  of 
Abraham's  justification  by  faith.  Gal.  3  :  6,  Rom.  4  :  9,  and  some 
Pauline  influence  here  is  very  probable.  Yet  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  writer  is  arguing  from  the  acknowledged  righteousness  of 
these  heroes  to  their  faith,  not  from  their  faith  to  their  justification. 

8.  By  faith  Abraham  .  .  .  obeyed.  In  this  obedience  to  the 
call  which  came  to  him,  lay  Abraham's  great  exhibition  of  faith. 
Cf.  Gen.  12:1.     To  go  out.     Explanatory  of  the  obedience  and  what 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  ii  :  ii 

inheritance;    and  he  went  out,  °not  knowing  whither   Gen. 23:4 

9.  he  went.  By  faith  he  became  a  sojourner  in  the  land 
of  promise,  as  in  a  land  °not  his  own,  °^  dwelling 
in  tents,   °with  Isaac  and  Jacob,  the  heirs  with  him 

10.  °of  the  same  promise :  for  he  looked  for  the  city  which 
°hath   the   foundations,  whose  ^  builder  and  maker  is 

11.  God.  By  faith  even  Sarah  herself  received  power  to 
conceive  seed  when  she  was  past  age,  since  she  counted 

'  Or,  having  taken  up  his  abode  in  tents      '  Or,  architect 

was  involved  in  it.  Not  knowing.  I.e.,  although  he  did  not  know. 
Abraham's  great  initial  act  in  setting  out  from  home  was  preemi- 
nently an  act  of  faith  in  the  unseen. 

9.  Even  after  his  arrival  in  the  promised  land,  Abraham  still  lived 
in  faith,  not  realization.  Not  his  own,  dwelling  in  tents.  Touches 
that  emphasize  the  long  discipline  of  Abraham's  faith.  With  Isaac 
and  Jacob,  the  heirs  ...  of  the  same  promise.  His  posterity 
like  himself  are  sojourners  in  the  land  they  have  expected  to  possess, 
a  new  trial  being  thus  occasioned  to  the  faith  of  Abraham.  They, 
like  him,  were  as  yet  prospective  heirs  only,  not  having  entered  upon 
the  possession  of  the  inheritance. 

10.  What  Abraham  was  looking  forward  to  by  faith  was  not  a 
mere  settlement  in  Canaan,  but  that  celestial  city  which  has  endur- 
ing foundations,  of  which  God  is  architect  and  builder.  Cf.  11  :  16; 
12  :  22;  13  :  14.  Hath  the  foundations.  In  contrast  to  the  shifting 
encampment  of  his  nomadic  life,  Abraham  looked  forward  to  a  time 
when  he  might  in  a  permanent  settlement  {having  foundations)  enjoy 
the  fellowship  of  his  God. 

11.  The  mention  of  Sarah  among  those  whose  faith  is  at  least 
implicitly  attested  in  the  Old  Testament,  presents  serious  difficulty, 
since  only  her  incredulity  is  mentioned  in  this  connection  in  Gen- 
esis. It  has  therefore  been  urged  that  it  is  still  Abraham's  faith 
that  is  being  illustrated  in  this,  as  in  the  previous  vss.  and  the  fol- 
lowing vs.  On  this  view,  even  Sarah  herself,  means  in  spite  of  her 
unbelief,  and  we  should  translate  below,  since  he  counted  him  that 
had  promised  faithful.  It  is  perhaps  more  natural,  however,  to  un- 
derstand that  Sarah's  own  faith  is  intended,  and  that  Sarah,  not 
Abraham,  is  the  subject  of  counted  him  faithful,  in  which  case  we 
must  suppose  that  the  writer  understands  that,  from  being  at  first 
sceptical,  she  came  to  have  faith  in  the  promise  of  ofi'spring  made 
to  Abraham.     Gen.  18:9-15. 

99 


II  :  12  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

12.  him  faithful  who  had  promised:  °wherefore  also  °there 

sprang  °of  one,  and  him  °as  good  as  dead,  so  many 

Gen.  22: 17;  Og^g  ^Yie  stars  of  heaven  in  multitude,  and  as  the  sand, 

32:12  ^       ^  ^  '  ' 

which  is  by  the  sea  shore,  innumerable. 

13.  °These  all  died  Mn  faith,  °not  ha\dng  received  °the 
promises,  but  having  seen  them  and  greeted  them 
from    afar,    and    having    °confessed    that    they    were 

I  Chron.  29:    1 4.    Strangers  and  pilgrims  on  the  earth.     For  they  that 

Q^j^^23-  ^^y  ^^^^  things  make  it  manifest  that  they  are  seeking 

15.    after  °a  country  of  their  own.     And  if  indeed  they 

'  Gr.  according  to. 

12.  Wherefore.  Because  of  this  triumph  of  faith.  There 
sprang.  More  exactly,  were  begotten.  Of  one.  Abraham,  As 
good  as  dead.  Lit.,  Deadened,  i.e.,  incapacitated  by  age.  As  the 
stars.  Gen.  22  :  17.  This  fulfilment  of  the  promise  made  to  Abra- 
ham fell  of  course  long  after  his  time,  as  the  writer  immediately 
indicates,  vs.  13. 

Tlieir  relation  to  the  promises,  and  its  meaning,  11  :  13-16. 

13.  These  all.  Not  all  those  thus  far  mentioned,  but  Abraham 
and  his  house,  —  Sarah,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.  Only  to  these,  among 
the  worthies  thus  far  named,  did  the  promises  of  national  develop- 
ment and  world-wide  blessing  in  question  apply,  and  the  words  died 
in  faith  are  not  so  appropriate  to  Abel  and  Enoch.  Not  having  re- 
ceived. In  6  :  15  and  'i-'i-  :  Z2)  Abraham  and  others  are  said  to  have 
attained  the  promises,  not  in  the  sense  of  realizing  their  fulfilment, 
but  of  having  certain  promises  made  to  them  by  God.  The  prom- 
ises. In  the  sense  of  what  was  promised.  They  had  attained  the 
promises,  but  not  the  fulfilment  of  the  promises.  What  is  empha- 
sized is  that  Abraham  and  his  immediate  descendants  lived  all  their 
lives,  and  even  died,  without  having  the  divine  promises  fulfilled  to 
them.  Their  whole  experience  and  activity  were  in  the  realm  of 
faith  alone,  not  sight.  Confessed  that  they  were  strangers.  They 
understood,  and  by  their  behavior  acknowledged,  that  the  fulfilment 
of  the  promises  was  not  to  be  in  their  time.     Cf.  Gen.  23  :  4;    47  :  9. 

14.  A  country  of  their  own.  Lit.,  a  fatherland.  In  owning  that 
they  were  pilgrims  and  strangers,  they  implied  a  connection  with 
some  other  land  which  was  truly  their  own, 

15.  This  was  not  Mesopotamia,  whence  the  stock  had  come,  for 
they  seem  never  to  have  thought  of  returning  thither  to  live. 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  ii  :  i8 

had  been  mindful  of  that  country  from  which  they 
went  out,  they  would  have  had  opportunity  to  return. 
i6.  But  now  °they  desire  a  better  country,  that  is,  a  heavenly : 
°wherefore  God  is  not  ashamed  of  them,  °to  be  called 
their  God:    °for  he  hath  prepared  for  them  °a  city. 

17.  °By  faith  Abraham,  being  tried,  °^  offered  up  Isaac:   Gen.22:i 
°yea,  he  that  had  °gladly  received  the  promises  was 

18.  offering  up  his  °only  begotten  son;  even  he  ^  to  whom 

'  Gr.  hath  offered  up.       =  Or,  of 

16.  They  desire.  This  is  the  meaning  of  their  acknowledgment 
of  being  pilgrims  and  strangers.  They  are  looking  to  a  country  other 
than  Canaan  or  Mesopotamia,  and  doubtless  better  than  these,  of 
which  they  have  laid  hold  through  faith;  and  this  can  only  be  the 
heavenly  fatherland,  to  which  the  writer  looks  forward  as  the  Mes- 
sianic consummation.  Wherefore.  In  response  to  this  expression 
of  faith,  God  accepts  them  as  indeed  his.  To  be  called  their  God. 
As  in  Ex.  3:6,/  am  tlie  God  of  .  .  .  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and 
the  God  of  Jacob.  For  he  hath  prepared.  Showing  that  he  is  not 
ashamed  of  them.     A  city.     The  heavenly  fatherland. 

The  workings  of  faith  in  the  patriarchs,  the  lawgiver,  and  the 
heroes  of  the  conquest,  11  :  17-31. 

17.  Abraham's  faith  had  its  supreme  manifestation  when  he  was 
called  upon  to  offer  up  Isaac.  By  fa.ith.  Abraham's  readiness,  at 
the  command  of  God,  to  offer  up  his  son,  was  due  to  the  reality  that 
the  unseen  world  had  for  him,  and  thus  attested  his  faith.  Cf.  vs.  19. 
Being  tried.  Cf.  Gen.  22:1,  LXX,  God  tried  Abraham.  Offered 
up.  As  far  as  Abraham's  intention  was  concerned,  the  sacrifice 
was  consummated,  going  far  enough  to  establish  his  obedience,  and 
so  his  faith.  Yea.  The  writer  repeats  the  amazing  fact,  as  throwing 
Abraham's  faith  into  the  highest  relief.  Gladly  received.  Or, 
welcomed.  The  readiness  of  the  receiver  of  the  promises  to  sacrifice 
the  son  in  whom  those  promises  centred,  constitutes  a  paradox,  which 
sets  Abraham's  faith  in  the  unseen  in  the  clearest,  strongest  light. 
Only  begotten.  Abraham  had  other  sons.  Gen.  16:16;  25:2,  of 
whom  Ishmael  at  least  was  older  than  Isaac.  Yet  as  the  one  son  in 
whom  the  promises  were  to  have  their  fulfilment,  Isaac  is  called  the 
only  son  in  Gen.  22  :  2. 

18.  It  was  said.  Gen.  21  :  12.  Shall  thy  seed  be  called.  Or, 
a  seed  shall  bear  thy  name.  It  was  to  Isaac  that  the  promise  of  a 
great  and  blessing-bringing  posterity  was  definitely  attached. 

lOI 


II  :  19  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

Gen.  21 :  12  19.  °it  was  Said,  In  Isaac  °shall  thy  seed  be  called :  account- 
ing that  God  is  able  to  raise  up,  even  from  the  dead; 
from  whence  he  did  also  °in  a  Sparable  receive  him 

20.  back.     By  faith   Isaac  blessed   Jacob  and  Esau,  even 

21.  concerning    things    to    come.     By   faith    Jacob,   when 
he  ^was  a  dying,  blessed  each  of  the  sons  of  Joseph; 

Lxx  '*^ '  ^^  ^^^  worshipped,  leaning   °upon   the  top  of  his  staff. 

Gen.  50:25    22.   By    faith    Joseph,    when    his    end    was    nigh,    made 

mention  of  the  departure  of  the  children  of  Israel; 

•  SV  figure      "  SV  was  dying 

19.  The  key  to  Abraham's  strange  conduct  is  found  in  his  perfect 
faith  in  God.  He  did  not  doubt  that  God,  who  had  wonderfully 
called  Isaac  into  being,  could  bring  him  back  again,  even  from  the 
dead,  and  so  still  fulfil  the  promises  in  him.  In  a  parable.  Since 
Abraham  had  prepared  to  slay  Isaac,  and  had  thus  given  him  up  as 
it  were  to  death,  he  received  him  back  as  though  from  the  dead. 

20.  The  deceit  practised  upon  Isaac,  by  which  he  was  caused  to 
give  the  first-born's  blessing  to  the  younger  son,  is  not  so  much 
thought  of  here,  as  the  transference  by  Isaac  to  his  sons  of  the  prom- 
ises which  he  had  inherited,  and  which  dealt  with  the  future.  His 
faith  lay  in  his  assurance  that  the  promises  made  to  his  house,  which 
had  not  been  fulfilled  to  him,  would  yet  find  fulfilment  in  the  experi- 
ence of  his  posterity. 

21.  Jacob's  faith  was  shown  in  his  last  days  on  earth,  when  death 
was  impending,  and  the  expectation  that  the  promises  would  be  ful- 
filled to  him  personally  had  to  be  given  up,  when,  instead  of  losing 
his  hold  upon  them,  he  made  them  over  to  his  descendants,  as  a  rich 
and  precious  inheritance.  So  explicit  and  strong  was  Jacob's  hold 
upon  the  unseen  that  he  could  even  in  anticipation  assign  not  only 
to  his  own  sons,  but  even  to  each  of  the  sons  of  Joseph,  his  especial 
part  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  divine  promises.  Upon  the  top  of  his 
staff.  So  the  LXX  reads.  Gen.  47:31.  The  Heb.  has  upon  the 
head  of  the  bed.  From  a  different  incident  in  the  life  of  Jacob,  in 
which  his  faith  is  shown  by  his  desire  to  be  buried  with  his  fathers 
in  Canaan,  implying  his  keen  sense  of  identification  with  them  and 
participation  in  the  promises  made  to  them.  Or,  the  writer  connects 
these  words  with  the  blessing  of  Joseph's  sons,  which  immediately 
follows.  Gen.  48  :  i. 

22.  Joseph's  firm  hold  on  the  unseen  was  shown  in  his  reference 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  ii  :  26 

23.  and  gave  commandment  concerning  his  bones.     °By 

faith  Moses,  when  he  was  born,  was  hid  three  months  Bx.  2:2 
°by  his  parents,  because  they  saw  he  was  a  goodly 
child;    and  they  wxre  not  afraid  of  °the  king's  com- 

24.  mandment.     By  faith  Moses,  when  he  was  grown  up,   Ex.  2:11 
refused  to   be  called  °the   son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter; 

25.  choosing  rather  to  ^  be  e\dl  entreated  °with  the  people 
of  God,  than  °to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  °for  a  season ; 

26.  °accounting  °the  reproach  of  ^  Christ  greater  riches  than  Ps.  89: 50  51 

'  SV  share  ill  treatment      *  Or,  the  Christ 

to  the  promise  made  to  the  fathers,  and  to  his  command  that  his 
bones  be  taken  to  the  promised  land  when  the  Israelites  should  go 
thither.     Gen.  50  :  24,  25. 

23.  By  faith.  The  faith  was  that  of  his  parents,  who  held  to 
the  promise  as  somehow  to  be  fulfilled,  despite  the  hopeless  prospect 
of  the  time.  Without  this  hold  on  the  promise,  they  would  not  have 
had  the  courage  and  spirit  to  try  to  save  the  child.  By  his  parents. 
As  in  the  LXX,  they  hid  him  three  months,  Ex.  2:  2.  The  Heb.  as- 
cribes the  action  to  his  mother.  The  king's  commandment.  Ex, 
i:  16,  22. 

24.  The  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter.  Lit.,  a  son  of  a  daughter 
of  Pharaoh,  emphasizing  the  exalted  station  declined  by  Moses.  This 
refusal  is  not  expressly  stated  in  Exodus,  or  in  Josephus's  account  of 
Moses,  Antt.  2:  9  ff.,  but  is  implied  in  Ex,  2:  11,  12,  where  Moses 
takes  the  part  of  his  Hebrew  brethren. 

25.  This  refusal  of  immediate  tangible  benefits  reflects  the  greater 
value  put  by  Moses  upon  the  unseen  realities  of  divine  promise,  laid 
hold  of  by  faith.  By  this  refusal  Moses  incurred  hardship  and  hu- 
miliation. With  the  people  of  God.  As  shown  in  his  protection 
of  the  smitten  Hebrew^  Ex,  2:11,12.  By  that  act  he  cast  in  his 
lot  with  the  enslaved  Hebrews.  His  faith  was  shown  in  his  power 
to  recognize  in  these  slaves  the  people  of  God  and  heirs  of  divine 
promise.  To  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season.  Lit.,  to 
have  passing  enjoyment  of  sin.  Not  so  much  that  public  life  in  Egypt 
would  have  been  essentially  sinful,  but  that  for  Moses  it  would  have 
meant  apostasy  from  God  to  have  taken  part  in  it.  Moses'  example 
in  this  regard  has  practical  value  for  the  readers  of  the  epistle.  For 
a  season.  A  mere  lifetime,  in  contrast  with  that  eternal  future  of 
which  faith  lays  hold. 

26.  Accounting,     Better,  since  he  accounted.     Here  lay  the  reason 

103 


II  :27  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

the   treasures   of   Egypt:    for    °he  looked   unto    °the 

27.   recompense  of  reward.     By  faith  °he  forsook  Egypt, 

°not  fearing  the  wrath  of  the  king:    for  he  °endured, 

Es.  12:21-    28.    °as  seeing  °him  who  is  invisible.     By  faith  he  ^kept 

'^  the  passover,   and   the   sprinkHng  of  the  blood,   that 

°the  destroyer  of  the  firstborn  should  not  touch  them. 

29.   By  faith  they  passed  through  the  Red  sea  as  by  dry 

'  Or,  instituted       Gr.  hath  made. 


for  his  refusal  of  a  life  of  ease  and  consequence  in  Egypt.  The 
reproach  of  Christ.  Better,  of  the  Christ.  Cf.  Ps.  89:  50,  51,  The  re- 
proach .  .  .  wherewith  they  have  reproached  the  footsteps  of  thy  Christ. 
The  expression  is  implied  in  Rom.  15:3,  where  the  words  of  Ps.  69: 
9  are  applied  to  Christ.  Moses  had  to  encounter  such  reproach  in 
his  generation  as  the  Christ  had,  in  the  highest  degree,  to  endure; 
but  he  recognized  it  as  the  burden  which  must  be  borne  by  the  cho- 
sen of  God  and  so  worth  more  than  all  that  Egypt  could  give.  He 
looked.  Lit.,  looked  away.  Moses  took  the  far  look.  The  recom- 
pense of  reward.  Perhaps  the  Messianic  age,  as  in  10:35,  ^^  l^^^t 
the  ultimate  triumph  of  God's  own. 

27.  He  forsook  Egypt.  While  this  is  generally  understood  to  refer 
to  Moses'  flight  from  Egypt,  the  reference  is  more  probably  to  the  Ex- 
odus, in  which  he  was  the  principal  actor,  and  from  which  fear  of  the 
king  did  not  deter  him.  Not  fearing.  Moses'  flight  from  Egypt 
after  killing  the  Egyptian  was  due  to  his  fear  of  Pharaoh,  Ex.  2:  14, 
15.  At  the  Exodus,  on  the  other  hand,  Moses  withstood  Pharaoh 
to  his  face,  and  showed  the  utmost  courage.  Endured.  Or,  was 
steadfast.  Especially  appropriate  as  characterizing  Moses'  resolute 
behavior  in  his  dealings  with  Pharaoh  in  connection  with  the  Exo- 
dus. As  seeing.  Among  Old  Testament  heroes  Moses  alone  was 
said  to  have  beheld  God,  Ex.  33:  11;  Num.  12  :  8.  Before  the  Exo- 
dus, at  Horeb,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  had  appeared  to  Moses,  and 
awakened  his  faith,  Ex.  3  :  2.  This  firm  hold  on  the  invisible^  world 
was  thus  conspicuously  characteristic  of  Moses.  Him  who  is  invisi- 
ble. Cf.  II  :  I.  The  heroic  achievements  of  Moses  were  all  reflec- 
tions of  this  inward  vision  of  faith. 

28.  The  holding  of  the  first  Passover,  with  the  striking  of  the  blood 
upon  the  doorposts,  was  an  expression  of  faith  in  God's  promise  of 
deliverance.  Cf.  Ex.  12.  The  destroyer.  The  same  word  is  used 
as  in  Ex.  12  :  23,  LXX. 

29.  The  perilous  march  through  the  Red  Sea,  undertaken  at  Je- 

104 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  n  :  33 


^o 


land:     °which   the   Egyptians    °assayin< 

30.  swallowed  up.  By  faith  the  walls  of  Jericho  fell 
down,  after  they  had  been  compassed  about  for  seven 

31.  days.  By  faith  Rahab  the  harlot  °perished  not  with 
them  that  were  disobedient,  having  received  the  spies 

32.  wdth  peace.  And  what  shall  I  more  say?  for  the  time 
will  fail  me  if  I  tell  of  °Gideon,  Barak,  Samson,  °Jeph- 

^7,.  thah;  of  °David  and  Samuel  and  the  prophets:  who 
through  faith  °subdued  kingdoms,  °wrought  righteous- 
ness, °obtained  promises,  ^stopped  the  mouths  of  lions, 

hovah's  command,  Ex.  14: 15,  16,  showed  the  people's  faith  in  the 
promise.  Which  .  .  .  assaying  to  do.  hit.,  making  trial  of  which, 
i.e.,  of  the  dry  land.  Were  swallowed  up.  Ex.  14:28.  The  fate 
of  the  Egyptians  showed  the  danger  which  the  Hebrews  had  in  their 
faith  faced  and  surmounted. 

30.  The  obedience  rendered  by  Joshua  and  the  people  to  the 
divine  command  to  compass  Jericho  in  solemn  procession  once  each 
day  for  seven  days,  evinced  their  faith  that  God  would  by  these 
means  deliver  the  city  to  them.     Josh.  6:  T-20. 

31.  Rahab's  acknowledgment  of  the  reality  of  the  Hebrews'  claims 
and  prospects  showed  her  faith  in  Jehovah,  and  her  estimate  of  the 
unseen  world.     Perished  not.     Josh.  6:17,  23,  25. 

The  workings  of  faith  in  judges,  prophets,  and  saints  of  later 
times,  II  :  32-40. 

32.  The  writer  cannot  hope  to  finish  the  list  of  those  whose  heroic 
achievements,  wrought  through  the  sustaining  power  of  faith  in  the 
unseen,  have  been  recorded  in  scripture.  Gideon  .  .  .  Jephthah. 
Heroes  of  the  times  of  the  judges.  For  Gideon  cf.  Jud.  chh, 
6-8;  Barak,  chh.  4,  5;  Samson,  chh.  13-16;  Jephthah,  chh.  11, 
12.  David  and  Samuel  and  the  prophets.  The  great  figures 
of  the  royal  period.  The  names  are  not  put  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment order. 

2,S-  In  a  brilliant  series  of  nine  clauses,  the  writer  summarizes  the 
achievements  of  judges,  kings,  and  prophets.  Subdued  kingdoms. 
Intended  especially  of  the  judges.  Wrought  righteousness.  The 
work  of  Samuel  is  perhaps  especially  thought  of  (i  Sam.  12),  al- 
though the  prophets,  and  indeed  the  whole  work  of  Israel,  might  be 
so  interpreted.  Obtained  promises.  Had  promises  made  to  them. 
The  expression  does  not  mean  that  they  had  experienced  the  fulfil- 
ment of  them,  at  least  as  yet.  David  is  probably  meant,  2  Sam.  7: 
12-16.     Stopped  the  mouths  of  lions.     Referring  not  so  much  to 

105 


II  :  34  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

34.  ^quenched  the  power  of  fire,  °escaped  the  edge  of 
the  sword,  °from  weakness  were  made  strong,  °waxed 
mighty  in  war,    °turned   to   flight    armies   of  aliens. 

35.  °Women  received  their  dead  by  a  resurrection:  and 
others  were  °^  tortured,  °not  accepting  ^  their  deliver- 
ance; that  they  might  obtain  °a  °better  resurrection: 

36.  and  others  had  trial  of  mockings  and  scourgings,  yea, 

37.  moreover  of   °bonds  and  imprisonment:    °they  were 

'  Or,  beaten  to  death      '  Gr.  the  redemption. 

the  exploits  of  Samson  and  David  ( Jud.  14:  6;    i  Sam.  17:  34),  as  to 
the  experience  of  Daniel,  Dan.  6:  16-23. 

34.  Quenched  the  power  of  fire.  As  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and 
Abed-nego,  in  the  fiery  furnace,  Dan.  3:  27.  Escaped  the  edge  of 
the  sword.  As  did  Elijah,  i  Kgs.  19:1,  2,  and  others  less  conspic- 
uous. From  weakness  were  made  strong.  This  suggests  Samson, 
Jud.  16:  28,  but  is  perhaps  rather  to  be  connected  with  the  gradual 
development  of  the  pious  Maccabaeans  from  utter  weakness  and  in- 
significance into  strength  and  independence.  This  is  favored  by  the 
following  clauses,  which  seem  to  have  especial  reference  to  the  Mac- 
cabaean  struggle.  Waxed  mighty  in  war,  turned  to  flight  armies 
of  aliens.  That  the  stirring  events  of  the  Maccabaean  times  are 
meant  is  established  by  the  last  phrase,  armies  of  aliens,  the  words 
of  which  are  not  usual  ones,  but  are  frequent  in  i  Mace,  in  just  the 
senses  exhibited  here. 

35.  Women  received  their  dead.  As  in  i  Kgs.  17:23;  2  Kgs. 
4:36,  37.  Tortured.  The  reference  is  to  2  Mace.  6: 19,  28,  where  a 
similar  word  is  used.  Not  accepting  their  deliverance.  Again 
referring  to  2  Mace.  6:22,  30.  A  better  resurrection.  Probably 
suggested  by  2  Mace.  7:9,  14,  the  story  of  the  seven  martyrs  and 
their  mother.  Their  endurance  of  agony  and  death,  in  the  expecta- 
tion of  resurrection  thereafter,  evinced  their  faith  in  the  unseen  world. 
Better.  Than  the  restoration  to  earthly  life  mentioned  earlier  in  the 
verse. 

36.  While  it  is  not  necessary  to  limit  the  reference  of  these  words 
too  closely  (cf.  Jer.  20:  2),  they  are  certainly  appropriate  to  the  mar- 
tyrs just  mentioned,  in  whose  story  mocking  and  scourging  had  a 
place,  2  Mace.  7:1,  7,  10.  Bonds  and  imprisonment.  Probably 
referring  to  the  prophets:  Micaiah,  i  Kgs.  22:27;  Jeremiah,  Jer. 
20:  2;   37:  15,  16;   38:  6. 

37.  They  were  stoned.  Referring  probably  to  Zechariah,  2  Chron. 

106 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  11:40 

stoned,  they  were  °sawn  asunder,  they  °were  tempted, 
they  were  °slain  with  the  sword :  °they  went  about  °in 
sheepskins,    in   goatskins;     being    destitute,    afflicted, 

38.  ^  evil    entreated  (of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy), 
wandering  in  deserts  and  mountains  and  caves,  and 

39.  the  holes  of  the  earth.     And   these   all,    °having  had 
°witness  borne  to  them  °through  their  faith,  °received 

40.  not  the  promise,  God   having  ^  provided  some  better 

'  SV  ill-treated      '  Or,  foreseen 

24:  20,  21.  Cf.  Lk.  11:  51.  Sawn  asunder.  The  fate  of  Isaiah,  ac- 
cording to  Justin  Martyr,  Dialogue,  c.  120;  Texi\x\\\a.n,Scorpiace,c.2>; 
On  Patience,  c.  14;  Origen,  To  Africanus,  c.  9;  and  the  Ascension 
of  Isaiah,  c.  5.  Were  tempted.  If  this  be  the  true  reading,  as  the 
best  Mss.  indicate,  the  reference  must  be  to  the  trying  of  men  by 
torture,  to  prevail  upon  them  to  apostatize,  as,  e.g.,  in  the  persecu- 
tions of  the  Maccab^ean  time.  Slain  with  the  sword.  The  fate 
of  Uriah  the  prophet,  Jer.  26:  23,  and  of  Elijah's  fellow-prophets, 
I  Kgs.  19:  10.  They  went  about.  Being  driven,  that  is,  from  one 
hiding  place  to  another.  In  sheepskins.  The  same  word  is  used 
in  the  LXX,  of  Elijah's  mantle,  i  Kgs.  19:19.  Cf.  Zech.  13:4. 
In  this  and  the  previous  clause,  Elijah  and  Elisha  are  probably  be- 
fore the  writer's  mind,  cf.  i  Kgs.  19:  2,3;  2  Kgs.  2  :  13;  6  :  13,  31,  as 
well  as  the  faithful  of  the  Maccabaean  times,  i  Mace.  2:28,  31; 
9:33,  42,  etc. 

38.  The  contrast  is  between  the  worth  of  these  men  and  their  ex- 
periences, and  we  may  read,  Men  of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy 
wandering  in  deserts  and  mountains,  etc.  Such  were  the  experiences 
of  Elijah,  Elisha,  the  Maccabaean  heroes,  and  others,  who  in  the 
face  of  every  calamity  and  hardship,  through  faith  kept  their  hold 
upon  the  unseen  realities.  The  relative  clause  belongs  with  the  fol- 
lowing, not  the  preceding,  phrase. 

39.  Having  had.  Better,  though  they  had.  Witness  borne  to 
them.  In  the  scriptures.  Through  their  faith.  While  their  faith 
is  in  most  cases  not  specifically  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament, 
they  are  commended,  and  for  things  that,  as  the  writer  has  shown, 
necessarily  involved  faith,  and  thus  they  may  be  said  to  have  had 
witness  borne  to  them  through  their  faith.  Received  not  the  prom- 
ise.    The  Messianic  promises,  conceived  as  a  whole. 

40.  From  the  disappointment  of  these  men  of  old,  the  writer  skil- 
fully derives  encouragement  for  his  readers.      Not  only  is  the  noble 

107 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

thing   concerning   us,  that  apart  from  us  they  should 
not  be  made  perfect. 


2.  Exhortation  to  follow  their  example,  or  rather  that  of 
Christ,  accepting  the  tasks  and  trials  of 
life  as  the  Fathers  discipline, 
12:  1-13 

12.  ^Therefore  let  us  also,  °seeing  we  are  compassed 
about  with  so  great  °a  cloud  of  witnesses,  °lay 
aside  ^  every  weight,  °and  the  sin  which  ^  doth 
so  easily  beset  us,    and  °let  us  run  with   °^  patience 

2.      the  race  that  is  set  before  us,  °looking  °unto  Jesus 

'  Or,  all  cumhtance  SVm  all  encitmhrance  '  Or,  doth  closely  cling  to  us  Or,  is 
admired  of  many      3  SVm  stedfaslness 

example  of  these  worthies,  in  their  hard  discipline  of  faith  unrewarded, 
to  arouse  the  readers  to  steadfastness  in  faith,  but  the  very  postpone- 
ment of  fulfilment  which  they  had  to  endure  is  shown  to  involve 
especial  encouragement  for  the  believers  in  Christ,  who  are  destined 
speedily  to  share  with  them  the  glories  of  the  Messianic  day.  The 
fulfilment  of  the  promise  has  been  postponed  to  the  "  last  days"  in 
which  the  Christians  live.  Thus  while  all  had  the  faith  and  all  ulti- 
mately receive  the  promise,  the  Christians  are  more  fortunate  in  that 
they  have  both  faith  and  that  in  which  all  believed,  i.e.,  Christ  and 
the  Messianic  revelation. 

Jesus  the  great  example,  12 : 1-4. 

1.  Therefore.  The  writer  proceeds  now  to  make  practical  use 
of  the  thought  developed  in  ch.  11.  Seeing  we  are  compassed  about 
with.  Or,  Since  we  have  encompassing  us.  A  cloud  of  witnesses. 
The  figure  is  drawn  from  the  runners  in  the  stadium.  The  veterans 
of  faith  look  down  upon  the  race  that  is  run  by  their  successors.  Hav- 
ing been  borne  witness  to  by  God,  they  here  become  witnesses 
to  the  value  of  faith.  Lay  aside  every  weight.  Stripping  off 
everything  that  encumbers  the  athlete.  And  the  sin  which  doth 
.  .  .  beset  us.  Better,  And  close  clinging  sin.  Let  us  run  .  .  . 
the  race.  The  Christian  life  is  described  as  a  race  by  Paul,  i  Cor. 
9  :  24,  etc.     Patience.     Better,  endurance. 

2.  Looking.     Better,  Looking  away.     Unto  Jesus.     The  heroes 

108 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  12:4 

°the  *  author  and  perfecter  of  our  faith,  who  °for  the 
joy  that  was  set  before  him  endured  °the  cross,  °de- 
spising  shame,  and  hath  °sat  down  at  the  right  hand   Ps.  no :  i 

3.  of  the  throne  of  God.      For  °consider  him   that  hath 
°endured    such    gainsaying    of   sinners    against   ^them-  Num.  16:38 
selves,  that  ye  °wax  not  weary,  fainting  in  your  souls. 

4.  Ye  have  not  yet  °resisted  unto  blood,  °striving  against 

'  Or,  captain      ^  SV  and  many  authorities,  some  ancient,  read  himself. 

of  old  are  not  the  believer's  models,  for  in  Christ  he  has  a  better  pat- 
tern. Christ  alone  has  completely  won  the  victory  of  faith.  The 
Christian  runner  must  fix  his  eyes  upon  Jesus.  The  author  and 
perfecter  of  our  faith.  Better,  the  leader  and  perfecter  of  faith. 
Jesus  was  the  leader  in  the  way  of  faith,  and  in  him  faith  found  its 
perfection.  The  insertion  of  our  distorts  the  meaning.  The  follow- 
ing clause  explains  Jesus'  perfection  in  faith  and  leadership.  For 
the  joy.  Rather,  instead  of  the  joy.  Jesus  chose  to  endure  a  cross, 
instead  of  the  experience  of  joy  properly  his.  Before  us  lies  a  con- 
flict to  be  gone  through  with;  before  him  lay  an  existence  of  joy. 
He  turned  from  it  to  endure  a  cross.  It  is  this  that  exalts  him  to 
leadership  in  the  life  of  faith,  in  which  he  alone  has  attained  perfec- 
tion. The  cross.  Better,  a  cross.  Despising  shame.  The  dis- 
grace of  the  crucifixion,  as  of  hanging  to-day,  made  the  thought  of 
Christ's  death  doubly  repugnant  and  difficult  for  early  believers. 
Sat  down.  He  has  taken  his  seat  at  God's  right  hand.  Cf.  Ps, 
no  :  I ;   Heb.  1:3,  13;    8:1;   10:12. 

3.  Consider  him.  The  readers  are  asked  to  think  upon  Christ 
and  the  steadfast  endurance  displayed  by  him,  in  his  most  trying 
experience.  Endured  such  gainsaying  of  sinners  against  them- 
selves. Better,  endured  such  gainsaying  at  the  hands  of  sinners 
against  themselves.  Though  it  was  to  their  interest  to  hear  and  obey 
him,  they  in  their  hopeless  inconsistency  and  self-contradiction,  re- 
jected him,  and  thus  refused  their  own  good  and  sinned  against  them- 
selves. The  expression  sinners  against  themselves  recalls  Num.  16  : 
38.  Wax  not  weary.  The  steadfastness  of  Jesus  should  inspire 
them  to  endure  their  lighter  sufferings. 

4.  The  readers  have  not  as  yet  been  called  upon  to  endure 
what  Christ  endured.  Resisted  unto  blood.  Reached  the  limit  of 
hardship  in  their  struggle.  Striving  against  sin.  Suggests  prima- 
rily the  inner  conflict,  but  is  doubtless  meant  to  convey  the  thought 
of  outward  trial  and  persecution  as  well.  Their  steadfastness  must 
be  equal  to  martyrdom  itself,  if  need  be. 

109 


EPISTLE  TO   THE   HEBREWS 

5.  sin:  and  °ye  have  forgotten  °the  exhortation,  which 
reasoneth  with  you  as  with  sons, 

My  son,   regard   not  lightly  the  chastening  of  the 

Lord, 
Nor  faint  when  thou  art  reproved  of  him; 

6.  For  whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth. 
And  scourgeth  every  son  whom  he  receiveth. 

7.  ^It  is  °for  chastening  that  ye  endure;  God  dealeth 
with  you  °as  with  sons;    for  what  son  is  there  whom 

8.  his  father  chasteneth  not?  But  if  ye  are  without 
chastening,  whereof  °all  have  been  made  partakers, 

9.  then  are  ye  bastards,  and  not  sons.  Furthermore, 
we  had  the  fathers  of  our  flesh  to  chasten  us,  and  we 
gave  them  reverence:  shall  wx  not  much  rather  be 
in  subjection  unto  the  Father  of  ^spirits,  °and  live? 

'  Or,  Endure  unto  chastening         »  Or,  our  spirits 

The  discipline  of  suffering,  12:  5-13. 

5.  The  discipline  to  be  secured  through  trial  must  not  be  forgot- 
ten. Ye  have  forgotten.  Although  by  no  means  in  the  last  ex- 
tremity of  trial,  the  readers  are  in  danger  of  apostasy  or  apathy  at 
the  least,  and  this  shows  that  they  are  forgetful  of  the  fundamental 
moral  significance  of  trial.  The  exhortation.  Prov.  3:11,  12. 
The  scripture  is  appealed  to  for  warning  against  giving  way  under 
trial. 

6.  The  discipline  of  hardship  is  but  another  evidence  of  God's 
fatherly  interest  and  training.  The  emphasis  is  upon  "  loveth  " 
and  "  son."     Cf.  vss.  7-10. 

7.  For  chastening.  The  trying  experiences  of  the  readers  are 
disciplinary,  and  so  to  be  accepted  and  even  welcomed,  as  proofs  of 
God's  acceptance  of  them  as  his  sons.  As  with  sons.  The  disci- 
pline of  trial  is  to  be  expected  by  sons  of  God. 

8.  True  sonship  to  God  cannot  be  thought  of  apart  from  such 
discipline.  Those  who  are  exempt  from  the  experience  of  it  are  no 
sons  of  God.  All  "have  been  made  partakers.  All  true  sons  of 
God,  as  stated  in  the  scripture,  vs.  6. 

9.  The  a  fortiori  argument.  Sons  of  God  may  surely  be  supposed 
to  accept  from  hjm  at  least  such  paternal  discipline  as  they  respect- 

IIO 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  12  :  13 

10.  For  they  ^  verily  for  a  few  days  chastened  us  as  seemed 
good  to  them;    but  he  for  our  profit,  that  we  may  be 

11.  partakers  of  his  hoHness.  All  chastening  seemeth  for 
the  present  to  be  not  joyous,  but  grievous :  yet  after- 
ward it  yieldeth  °peaceable  fruit  unto  them  that  have 
been  exercised  thereby,  even  °the  fruit  of  righteous- 

12.  ness.      Wherefore    ^  Hft    up    the    hands    that    hang  isa.  35:3 

13.  down,  and   the   palsied    knees;    and  °make   straight  f^'^'" 
paths  for  your  feet,  that  °that  which  is  lame  °be  not 

^  turned  out  of  the  way,  but  rather  be  healed. 

'  SV  indeed        '  Gr.  make  straight.         3  Or,  put  out  of  joint 

fully  accept  from  often  arbitrary  earthly  fathers.  And  live.  The 
lofty  reward  of  this  higher  sonship,  worthily  sustained,  should  recon- 
cile all  to  its  trying  demands. 

10.  Far  above  the  arbitrary  discipline  of  earthly  fathers  stands 
the  divine  training,  wholly  beneficent  in  motive  and  effect,  and  lift- 
ing men  into  participation  in  God's  ov/n  goodness. 

11.  The  trying  situation  of  the  readers  is  reflected  in  this  con- 
tinued treatment  of  the  significance  of  chastening  in  God's  discipline 
of  men.  Peaceable.  Or,  peaceful.  In  contrast  with  the  stress  of 
the  time  of  discipline,  the  fruits  of  the  experience  are  peaceful,  per- 
haps with  further  reference  to  peace  with  men  and  God.  The  fruit 
of  righteousness.  The  discipline  filially  endured  produces,  in  those 
who  have  been  trained  by  it,  righteousness.  The  words  recall  Jas. 
3:  17,  18. 

12.  An  exhortation,  in  language  suggesting  the  march  through 
the  desert,  and  drawn  from  Isa.  35  :  3,  to  mutual  helpfulness  and 
renewed  endeavor. 

13.  Make  straight  paths.  Keep  the  path  that  leads  straight 
on,  and  do  not  turn  to  right  or  left,  as  you  march  through  the  desert. 
That  which  is  lame.  Or,  the  limb  that  is  lame.  Be  not  turned 
out  of  the  way.  Better,  Be  not  put  out  of  joint,  as  it  will  be,  if  left 
neglected,  by  the  further  march.  The  discouraged  and  fainting  in 
the  congregation  must  be  saved  from  apathy  and  apostasy  by  the 
watchcare  and  help  of  their  brethren. 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

3.  Warning  against  moral  failure,  with  its  inexorable  pen- 
alty, 12 : 14-17 

14.  °Follow  after  peace  with  all  men,  and  the  °sancti- 
fication  without  which  no  man  shall  °see   the   Lord : 

15.  looking  carefully  Mest  there  be  any  man  that  °^  falleth 
short  of  the  grace  of  God;  lest  °any  root  of  bitterness 
springing  up  trouble  you,  and  thereby  the  many  be 

16.  defiled;  ^  lest  there  be  any  °fornicator,  or  profane 
person,  as  °Esau,  who  for  one  mess  of  meat  sold  his 

17.  own  birthright.  For  ye  know  that  even  when  he  after- 
ward desired  to  inherit  the  blessing,  he  was  rejected 
(for  he  °found  no  place  ^of  repentance),  though  °he 
sought  it  diligently  with  tears. 

»  Or,  whether       '  Or,  falleth  back  from      3  SV  for  a  change  of  mind  in  his  father 

14.  Follow  after  peace.  The  injunction  of  Ps.  34  :  14-  The 
writer  seeks  to  insure  the  unity  and  solidarity  of  the  church.  The 
believers  are  to  be  helpful,  vs.  13,  and  harmonious.     Cf.  Rom.  12: 

18.  Sanctification.  Hallowing,  growth  toward  holiness.  Cf.  in 
vs.  II,  that'  peaceful  fruit,  righteousness.  See  the  Lord.  As  in 
Matt.  5:8. 

15.  They  are  to  guard  each  other  from  relapse  into  unbelief. 
Falleth  short  of  the  grace  of  God.  Through  apostasy.  Any  root 
of  bitterness.  One  apostate  in  the  church  might  prove  a  poisonous 
root,  productive  later  of  baneful  fruit,  in  the  defilement  of  the  mass 
of  the  community.     The  figure  is  drawn  from  Deut.  29  :  18. 

16.  The  writer  cannot  too  often  insist  that  they  must  take  care 
that  not  one  of  their  number  be  recreant.  Fornicator.  Perhaps  in 
the  literal  sense,  but  more  probably  in  the  figurative  sense  of  one 
who  violates  the  divine  covenant,  since  that  interpretation  carries 
the  thought  forward  without  interruption.  Esau.  As  representa- 
tive of  those  who  hold  spiritual  things  cheap,  and  lightly  exchange 
heavenly  prospects  and  divine  promises  for  immediate  material  ad- 
vantage. The  practical  value  of  this  lesson  for  the  readers,  under 
stress  of  persecution  and  in  danger  of  apostasy,  would  be  very. great. 

17.  The  case  of  Esau  shows  the  fatal  and  irrevocable  consequences 
of  such  undervaluing  of  spiritual  things.  Cf.  Gen.  27  :  38.  Found 
no  place  of  repentance.     Cf.  Wisd.  12  :  lo.    The  deed  could  not  be 

112 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  12  :  22 

4.    Final    contrast   of   the   old    revelation,   in  its    material 

and  repellent  aspects,  with  the  new,  heavenly, 

ideal,  and  eternal,  12  :  18-29 

18.  For   ye  are  not  come  unto    °^  a  mount  that  might  Deut.  4:11, 
be  touched,  and  that  burned  with  fire,  and  unto  °black-   " 

19.  ness,  and  darkness,  and  tempest,  and  the  sound  of  a   Ex.  19:16 
trumpet,  and  the  voice  of  words ;    which  voice  °they  Deut.  5 :  23, 
that  heard  ^intreated  that  no  word  more  should  be   *^ 

20.  spoken  unto  them:    for  they  could  not  endure  °that 

which  was  enjoined,  If  even  a  beast  touch  the  mountain,  Ex.  19  -.  la, 

21.  it  shall  be  stoned ;   °and  so  fearful  was  the  appearance,   ^^ 

22.  that  Moses  said,  °I  exceedingly  fear  and  quake:  but  Deut.  9:19 

'  Or,  a  palpable  and  kindled  fire         =  SV  entreated 

undone.  It  is  not  implied  that  Esau  remained  unforgiven  by  God, 
only  that  his  loss  of  his  inheritance  and  the  accompanying  promise 
was  irrevocable.  He  sought  it.  I.e.,  the  blessing.  The  admoni- 
tion closes  with  the  awful  warning  afforded  by  Esau,  against  the  for- 
feiture of  heavenly  prospects  for  material  gratification. 

The  making  of  the  old  covenant,  with  its  dreadful  attendants,  12  : 
18-21. 

18.  A  mount  that  might  be  touched  and  that  burned  with 
fire.  Better,  a  palpable  and  kindled  fire.  The  material  and  fear- 
inspiring  elements  in  the  old  revelation  are  emphasized.  Blackness, 
and  darkness,  etc.  The  language  of  Deut.  4:11;  5:22;  Ex.  19: 
16,  19. 

19.  The  terrors  of  the  theophany  were  unendurable  to  the  Hebrews. 
They  that  heard  intreated.     Deut.  5  :  25. 

20.  That  which  was  enjoined.     Ex.  19:12,  13. 

21.  And  so  fearful  was  the  appearance  that  Moses  said.  Bet- 
ter, And,  —  so  fearful  was  the  appearance,  —  Moses  said.  I  exceed- 
ingly fear.  The  words  of  Moses  on  another  occasion,  Deut.  9  :  19, 
are  here  connected  with  the  giving  of  the  law.  The  thought  of  the 
whole  is  to  set  forth  the  terrible  material  manifestations  attending 
the  establishment  of  the  first  covenant. 

The  new  covenant,  in  its  heavenly  glory  and  attractiveness,  12  : 
22-24. 

22.  The  attendants  of  the  new  covenant  are  neither  material  nor 

I  113 


23  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

°ye  are  come  unto  °mount  Zion,  and  unto  °the  city 
of    the    living   God,    °the    heavenly   Jerusalem,   ^and 

23.  to  ^innumerable  hosts  of  angels,  to  °the  general 
assembly  and  church  of  the  °firstborn  who  are  °enrolled 
in  heaven,  and  °to    God  the  Judge  of  all,  and  to  the 

24.  spirits  of  °just  men  made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus  the 
°mediator  of  a   new  ^covenant,  and  to  °the  blood  of 

'  Or,  and  to  innumerable  hosts,  the  general  assembly  of  angels,  and  the  church,  etc, 
a  Gr.  myriads  of  angels  3  Or,  testament 

repellent.  Ye  are  come.  Christian  believers  have  approached  and 
are  in  the  presence  of  the  noblest  heavenly  realities.  Mount  Zion. 
The  site  of  the  sanctuary  in  Jerusalem  is  here  used  in  the  sense 
of  God's  heavenly  dwelling  place.  Instead  of  Mount  Sinai, 
with  its  convulsive  and  portentous  tokens  of  his  presence,  we  ap- 
proach his  very  abode  in  heaven.  The  city  of  the  living  God. 
As  in  II  :  10,  16;  13  :  14,  The  heavenly  Jerusalem.  Cf.  Gal. 
4  :  26;  Rev.  21  :  2. 

23.  The  general  assembly.  Better,  a  festal  assembly.  First- 
born. Whether  this  is  to  be  understood  of  the  angels,  or  of  believ- 
ers in  Christ,  it  is  very  difficult  to  decide.  If  of  the  angels,  the  trans- 
lation is,  To  innumerable  hosts  of  angels,  a  festal  assembly  and  con- 
gregation of  firstborn  ones,  who  are  enrolled  in  heaven.  On  the  whole, 
it  is  more  probably  to  be  understood  of  Christian  believers  enrolled 
as  citizens  in  this  abiding  city,  and  sharing  with  their  brother  and 
forerunner  the  honors  of  firstborn  sons.  In  these  brilliantly  rhetori- 
cal passages,  carefully  graduated  analysis  must  not  be  demanded  of 
the  writer,  as  11  :  32,  e.g.,  shows.  Enrolled.  I.e.,  as  citizens.  Cf. 
Phil.  3  :  20.  The  promise  of  a  city,  11  :  16,  must  mean  citizenship 
in  it;  but  we  do  not  find  the  angels  described  as  citizens  of  the  heav- 
enly city,  unless  it  be  in  this  passage.  To  God  the  Judge  of  all. 
Or,  to  a  judge,  the  God  of  all.  The  reference  is  not  to  an  apocalyptic 
judgment  day  to  come,  but  to  present  realities  ;  among  which  must 
be  recognized  a  judge,  who  is  the  God  of  all.  Just  men  made  per- 
fect. There  seems  to  be  no  sufficient  reason  for  limiting  this  to  the 
righteous  men  of  the  old  dispensation.  Jesus  has  completed  their 
justification  and  made  them  perfect,  10  :  14.  To  him  the  writer  now 
passes. 

24.  In  the  reference  to  Jesus  and  his  sacrifice  the  description 
reaches  its  climax.  Mediator.  As  in  8  :  6;  9:15.  As  the  description 
of  the  old  covenant  ended  with  a  reference  to  its  mediator,  Moses,  so 
now  that  of  the  new.     The  blood  of  sprinkling.     Suggesting  the 

114 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  12  :  27 

sprinkling  that  speaketh  better  °^than  that  of  Abel. 

25.  See  that  ye  refuse  not  °him  that  speaketh.  For  if 
they  escaped  not,  °when  they  refused  him  that  warned 
them  °on  earth,  °much  more  shall  not  we  escape,  °who 
turn  away  from    him   °^that  warneth  from  heaven: 

26.  °whose  voice  then  shook  the  earth:  but  now  °he  hath 
promised,  saying.  Yet  once  more  will  I  make  to  tremble  Hag.  a :  e 

27.  not  the  earth  only,  but  also  the  heaven.  And  this 
word,  Yet  once  more,  signifieth  the  removing  of  those 
things  that  are  shaken,  as  of  things  that  have  been 
made,  that  those  things  which  are  not  shaken  may 

'  Or,  than  Abel  '  Or,  thai  is  from  heaven 

manner  of  Jesus'  mediation,  and  his  significance  as  priest  and  sacri- 
fice for  men.  Than  that  of  Abel.  Abel  shed  his  blood,  a  first 
martyr,  as  it  were,  of  faith,  and  a  kind  of  type  of  Jesus'  sacri- 
fice. Not  through  his  blood,  however,  were  even  the  men  of 
old  made  perfect,  but  through  the  blood  of  Christ,  so  much  more 
eloquent. 

Warning  and  encouragement,  12  :  25-29. 

25.  Him  that  speaketh.  God.  When  they  refused  ...  on 
earth.  Better,  When  on  earth  they  refused  him  that  gave  instruction, 
or  revelation.  Moses  is  meant.  On  earth.  The  scene  of  the  giv- 
ing of  the  old  covenant.  Much  more.  The  a  fortiori  argument 
again.  Who  turn  away  from  him.  Or,  who  reject  him.  That 
warneth  from  heaven.  Better,  that  is  from  heaven.  The  reference 
seems  to  be  to  Christ,  from  the  contrast  with  Moses,  but  the  follow- 
ing clause  makes  it  probable  that  by  him  that  is  from  heaven  God  is 
meant.  It  was  a  fatal  thing  to  refuse  Moses.  How  much  more  so 
to  reject  God. 

26.  The  old  revelation  shook  the  earth,  but  the  new  shakes  heaven 
as  well.  Whose  voice  then  shook  the  earth.  Ex.  19  :  18,  Heb.; 
cf.  Jud.  5  :  4,  5.  He  hath  promised.  Hag.  2  :  6.  Haggai's  proph- 
ecy of  the  future  glory  of  the  temple  is  rearranged  so  as  to  emphasize 
the  shaking  of  the  heaven,  by  which  the  writer  understands  the  Mes- 
sianic catastrophe  impending. 

27.  Since  the  prophet  says  once,  i.e.,  once  only,  this  new  shaking 
is  to  be  final.  Only  that  which  is  in  its  nature  unshakable  can  sur- 
vive it.  It  will  therefore  involve  the  removal  of  the  created,  visible, 
and  material,  and  leave  the  ideal,  essential  universe  to  abide  forever. 

115 


12  :  28  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

28.   remain.     °Wherefore,    °receiving    °a    kingdom    °that 
cannot  be  shaken,  °let  us  have  ^  grace,  °whereby  we 
may  offer  service  well-pleasing  to  God  with  ^  reverence 
Deut. 4:34     29.   and  awe:  for  our  God  is  a  consuming  fire. 

'  Or,  thankfulness      '  Or,  godly  fear 

28.  Wherefore.  Since  this  catastrophe  is  at  hand,  and  God  has 
given  us  a  part  in  his  eternal  world.  Receiving.  Or,  as  receiving, 
since  we  are  to  receive.  A  kingdom.  Cf.  Dan.  7  :  18.  That  can- 
not be  shaken.  Since  it  is  not  created  but  partakes  of  God's  own 
eternal  nature.  Let  us  have  grace.  Better,  Let  us  he  thankful,  give 
thanks.  Whereby  we  may  offer  service.  Better,  and  thereby  offer 
service;    let  us  through  our  thankfulness  minister  to  God. 

29.  This  solemn  thought,  with  which  the  writer  concludes  his 
powerful  exhortation  based  on  the  comparison  of  the  two  revelations, 
is  drawn  from  Deut.  4  :  24. 


116 


VI.  General  Exhortations,  Personal  Matters,        13 :  4 
AND  Farewell,  13:1-25 

13.  Let  °love  of  the  brethren  continue.  Forget  not  to 
shew    °love   unto    strangers:     for   thereby   some   have 

3.  °entertained  angels  unawares.  Remember  them  that 
are  °in  bonds,  °as  bound  with  them;  them  that  are 
°^evil  entreated,  as  being  ^yourselves  also  in  the  body. 

4.  Let  marriage  he  had  in  honour  °among  all,  and  let  the 
bed  he  undefiled:    for  fornicators  and  adulterers  God 

»  SV  ill-treated 

Exhortations  to  brotherly  love,  hospitality,  helpfulness,  purity, 
13  : 1-4. 

1.  Love  of  the  brethren.  Already  exercised  among  them,  as 
shown  by  their  ministry  to  the  saints,  6  :  lo. 

2.  Love  unto  strangers.  Or  simply  hospitality.  Especially 
needful  in  a  great  central  capital  like  Rome,  to  which  Christians 
were  constantly  coming  or  being  brought.  For  no  other  city  in  the 
Roman  world  would  this  exhortation  have  been  so  appropriate  and 
significant.  Yet  in  time  of  persecution  this  duty  of  hospitality  would 
be  attended  with  no  little  peril.  Entertained  angels  unawares. 
As  did  Abraham  and  Lot,  Gen.  i8,  19.  Hospitality,  the  entertain- 
ment of  brethren  of  their  own  or  distant  congregations,  often  brings 
with  it  unexpected  blessing. 

3.  In  bonds.  A  hint  of  persecution.  A  few  years  before  Paul 
had  been  a  prisoner  in  Rome,  and  a  few  years  after,  Ignatius  was  so. 
Timothy  has  just  been  released  from  imprisonment  elsewhere,  vs. 
23.  As  bound  with  them.  Especially  fitting  if  the  prisoners  are 
suffering  for  their  faith.  Evil  entreated.  Perhaps  those  oppressed 
by  persecution.  Yourselves  also  in  the  body.  And  hence  Uable 
to  similar  calamity. 

4.  Chastity  is  enjoined.  Among  all.  Marriage  is  to  be  respected 
by  the  parties  to  it  and  by  all  others  as  well.  Others  translate  in  all 
things. 

117 


13  *.  5  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

5.   will  judge.      °^  Be  ye  free   from   the    love    of   money; 

content  with  such  things  as  ye  have :   for  °himself  hath 

Deut.  31 : 6,         said,  I  will  in  no  wise  fail  thee,  neither  will  I  in  any 

'  °^    ^'^6.   wise  forsake  thee.     So  that  with  good  courage  we  say, 

Ps,ii8:6  °The  Lord  is  my  helper;   I  will  not  fear: 

What  shall  man  do  unto  me? 

7.  Remember  them  that  had  the  rule  over  you,  ^  which 
spake  unto  you  °the  word  of   God;    and  considering 

8.  °the  issue  of  their  ^life,  imitate  their  faith.  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  same  yesterday  and  to-day,  yea  and  *  for 

9.  ever.  Be  not  carried  away  by  divers  and  strange 
teachings:  for  it  is  good  °that  the  heart  be  stablished 
°by  grace ;  not  by  °meats,  wherein  they  that  ^  occupied 

»  Gr.  Let  your  turn  of  mind  be  free.  '  SV  men  that  3  Gr.  manner  of  life. 
*  Gr.  unto  the  ages.      s  Gr.  walked. 

Warnings  against  covetousness,  discontent,  and  anxiety,  13  : 5,  6. 

5.  Covetousness  is  forbidden.  Be  ye  free.  Lit.,  let  your  char- 
acter, disposition,  he  free.  On  the  liberality  of  the  readers  and  their 
former  losses,  cf.  6  :  10;  10  :  34.  Instead  of  covetousness,  the  readers 
are  to  practice  contentment  and  trust  in  God.  Himself  hath  said. 
Words  found  in  Deut.  31:6,  8  LXX,  but  in  the  third  person.  He 
will  in  no  wise  fail  thee  etc.  The  precise  form  of  the  text  is  found 
in  Philo,  On  the  Confusion  of  Tongues,  ch.  2)2>-  This  teaching  of 
serene  reliance  upon  God  recalls  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  Mt.  6  :  25-34. 

6.  The  Lord  is  my  helper.    The  quotation  is  from  Ps.  118  : 6  LXX. 
The   example   and   teaching   of    their   first   teachers  must   not    be 

forgotten,  13:7,  8. 

7.  Those  who  first  taught  the  readers  Christian  faith  are  no  more. 
Cf .  2  :  3 ;  4:2.  The  word  of  God.  Of  the  first  Christian  preaching, 
as  in  Acts  4  :  31;  13  :  46.  The  issue  of  their  life.  Perhaps  their 
martyrdom,  at  any  rate  their  dying  in  faith.  This  lifelong  faith  is 
Vi^orthy  of  all  imitation. 

False  teaching  and  practices  to  he  avoided,  13  :9-i2. 

9.  In  the  changelessness  of  Jesus,  in  whom  the  first  gospel  preachers 
had  had  their  faith,  is  good  ground  for  abiding  steadfast  in  their 
teachings,  instead  of  taking  up  with  new  ones.  A  lapse  into  Judaism 
would  not  of  course  be  thus  expressed.  That  the  heart  be  stab- 
lished.    Or,  to  he  stahlished  in  heart.     The  thought  is  of  stability, 

118 


EPISTLE   TO   THE    HEBREWS  13  *•  12 

10.  themselves   °were   not    profited.     We    have   an   altar, 
whereof  °they  have  no  right  to  eat  ^  which  serve  the 

11.  tabernacle.     For  the  bodies  of  those  beasts,  whose  blood  Lev.  16:27 
is  brought  into  the  holy  place  ^  by  the  high  priest  as  an 

12.  offering  for  sin,  are  burned  without  the  camp.     Where- 
fore   Jesus   also,    that   he   might   sanctify   the   people 

'  SV  that      »  Gr.  through. 

steadfastness,  in  contrast  with  fickleness  and  fondness  for  innova- 
tion. By  grace.  Only  thus  is  this  stability  to  be  secured.  Meats. 
The  reference  is  probably  not  to  the  clean  and  unclean  foods  of 
Judaism,  still  less  to  Jewish  sacrificial  meats,  which  must  have 
come  to  an  end  with  the  destruction  of  the  temple.  The  con- 
nection shows  that  the  matter  is  one  capable  of  forming  the  subject 
of  divers  and  strange  teachings.  We  are  probably  to  understand 
some  form  of  Judaistic  Christianity,  given  to  external  observance, 
perhaps  of  an  ascetic  character  (cf.  the  Ebionites),  which  might 
naturally  be  set  forth  concretely  by  the  one  word  meats.  Such  ex- 
ternal and  formal  practices  cannot  establish  the  heart,  and,  as  the 
writer  goes  on  to  show,  have  no  place  in  the  Christian  service.  Were 
not  profited.     Or,  have  not  profited. 

10.  The  Christian  sacrifice  is  not,  like  the  Jewish,  eaten  by  the 
priests,  but,  like  the  sin-offerings  of  the  Day  of  Atonement,  is  carried 
forth  without  the  camp.  The  language  of  the  verse  is  allegorical, 
not  only  in  part  but  throughout.  They  .  .  .  which  serve  the 
tabernacle.  Sometimes  understood  to  mean  the  Jewish  priests, 
but  more  probably  referring  to  Christian  believers,  who  are  else- 
where in  the  letter  spoken  of  as  ministering  as  priests,  9  :  14;  12  :  28, 
with  the  same  word  as  that  used  here.  The  Christian  service  pro- 
vides no  sacrificial  meats.  The  Christian  priest  has  no  right  to  eat 
of  the  Christian  sacrifice,  which,  like  that  of  the  Day  of  Atonement, 
is  carried  outside  the  camp. 

11.  The  analogue  found  in  the  Old  Testament  for  the  sacrifice 
of  Jesus  is  the  sacrifice  of  the  Day  of  Atonement  offered  by  the 
high  priest  once  a  year.  The  bodies  of  the  victims  were  not  eaten 
even  by  the  priests,  as  other  sacrifices  might  be,  but  were  burned 
without  the  camp. 

12.  So  the  great  solitary  offering  of  himself  made  by  Jesus  took 
place  without  the  gate,  and  supplies  to  his  brother  priests  no  sacrificial 
meats.  The  Christian  priests,  unlike  those  of  old,  do  not  partake 
of  their  sacrifice.  The  parallel  cannot,  of  course,  be  pressed;  Jesus 
was  not  burned  without  the  camp,  as  were  the  Day  of  Atonement 

119 


13  EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

through   his   own   blood,    suffered   ^without  the  gate. 

13.  °Let  us  therefore  go  forth  unto  him  without  the  camp, 

14.  °bearing  his  reproach.     For  we  have  not  here  an  abid- 
ing city,  but  we  seek  after  the  city  which  is  to  come. 

:i4      15.    °Through    him    ^  then    let    us    offer    up    °a    sacrifice 
■"g  of   praise  to  God  ^continually,  that  is,  °the  fruit  of 

»  Some  ancient  authorities  omit  then. 

victims,  nor  did  they  suffer  without  the  camp,  as  he  did  without  the 
gate.  As  those  victims  were  the  preeminent  sin-offering  of  Judaism, 
so  Jesus  .  .  .  suffered  .  .  .  that  he  might  sanctify  the  people  through 
his  own  blood.  The  reference  is  again  to  Jesus  as  the  final  and  eter- 
nally sufficient  sin-offering,  who  has  entered,  with  his  own  blood, 
into  the  Most  Holy  place  of  the  celestial  sanctuary,  there  to  make 
full  atonement  for  the  people.  Without  the  gate.  Cf.  John  19 : 
17,  where  it  appears  that  Jesus  suffered  without  the  city. 
The  reproach  of  Jesus  is  not  to  he  refused,  13  :  13,  14. 

13.  The  thought  of  Jesus'  humiliation  and  death  suggests  a 
practical  though  allegorically  expressed  admonition.  Let  us  go 
forth  unto  him  without  the  camp.  The  Christian  believers  are 
to  renounce  the  world  with  its  attachments,  as  really  and  fully  as 
if  they  were  to  go  forth  out  of  it.  Bearing  his  reproach.  The 
humiliation  which  he  endured  they  must  not  refuse  in  their  measure 
to  share.  The  readers,  in  the  midst  of  their  experience  of  persecu- 
tion, would  know  but  too  well  the  meaning  and  the  truth  of  this. 

14.  Not  in  this  world  is  the  Christian's  ideal  home  to  be  realized. 
Like  Abraham,  he  is  a  stranger  and  a  pilgrim,  looking  forward  to  a 
promised  land,  and  an  enduring  city.  Cf.  11:10,  16;  12:22;  the 
heavenly   Jerusalem,  Rev.   21:2. 

Thankfulness  and  beneficence,  13  :  15-17. 

15.  From  the  thought  of  meats  offered  to  idols  and  pagan  sacrifices, 
the  writer  turns  to  the  offerings  the  Christian  may  offer.  Through 
him.  Jesus  is  now  thought  of,  not  as  the  sacrifice,  but  as  the  minis- 
tering high  priest,  through  whom  the  believer-priests  make  offering 
to  God.  A  sacrifice  of  praise.  Words  taken  from  Lev.  7:12 
LXX.  In  superficial,  but  not  real,  conflict  with  the  writer's  teaching 
as  to  the  finality  of  Jesus'  offering  of  himself.  There  is  yet,  he  would 
say,  if  you  must  have  offerings,  a  suitable  one;  the  offering  of  praise. 
The  thought  is  in  close  connection  with  that  of  the  ministry  of  thanks- 
giving, 12  :  28.  Continually.  The  occasional  offering  of  the  old 
covenant,  the  offering  of  praise,  is  to  be  the  believer's  continual 
offering.     Cf.  Lev.  7:12  LXX.    The  fruit  of  lips.     Words  drawn 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

i6.  lips  which  make  confession  °to  his  name.  But  to  do 
good  and  to  communicate  forget  not:    for  with  such 

17.  sacrifices  God  is  well  pleased.  Obey  °them  that  have 
the  rule  over  you,  and  submit  to  them:  for  °they  watch 
in  behalf  of  your  souls,  as  they  that  shall  give  account; 
°that  they  may  do  this  with  joy,  and  not  with  ^ grief: 
for  °this  were  unprofitable  for  you. 

18.  Pray  for  us:  °for  we  are  persuaded  that  we  have  a 
good    conscience,    desiring   to    live    ^  honestly   in   all 

'  Gr.  groaning.       '  SV    honorably 


from  Hos.  14  :  3  LXX.  To  his  name.  I.e.,  to  God.  This  grateful 
acknowledgment  to  God  is  to  be  the  Christian  priests'  offering  of 
praise. 

16.  There  are  other  sacrifices,  that  may  still  be  made,  sacrifices 
that  have  primarily  to  do  with  one's  fellow-men,  but  are  none  the 
less  offerings  made  to  God,  and  acceptable  to  him.  Christian  ser- 
vice has  a  man-ward  as  well  as  a  God-ward  side.  Practical  benefi- 
cence and  generous  helpfulness  are  not  to  be  forgotten.  Cf.  13  : 
I,  2;  6  :  10. 

17.  Loyalty  and  obedience  to  the  leaders  of  the  church,  as  those 
charged  with  responsibility  for  the  brethren,  is  enjoined.  Them 
that  have  the  rule  over  you.  Better,  your  leaders.  The  officers 
of  the  congregation  are  probably  meant.  Cf.  vs.  7,  where  former 
leaders  are  mentioned.  They  watch.  Suggesting  the  watchful- 
ness of  a  shepherd  or  a  sentinel.  This  responsible  and  arduous 
service  should  call  forth  a  ready  response  in  obedience  and  devotion. 
That  they  may  do  this  with  joy,  and  not  with  grief.  Better, 
groaning.  Do  not  thwart  their  efforts  and  make  their  burdens  still 
heavier  by  disobedience.  This  were  unprofitable.  Disobedience 
and  wilfulness  will  not  only  disappoint  their  efforts,  but  bring  dis- 
aster upon  you  as  well. 

Personal  words,  benediction,  and  salutations,  13  :  18-25. 

18.  From  the  leaders  of  the  church  the  writer  passes  to  himself 
and  those  with  him,  who  seem  to  be  separated  from  the  readers 
through  no  wish  of  their  own,  but  perhaps  by  reason  of  the  persecu- 
tion now  threatening,  if  not  actually  afflicting,  the  church.  For 
we  are  persuaded.  Or,  For  we  believe.  The  writer  can  honestly 
ask  their  prayers,  since  he  has  lived  in  all  good  conscience.  If  there 
is  an  apologetic  hint  in  these  words,  it  may  suggest  that  the  writer 

121 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS 

19.  things.  And  I  exhort  you  the  more  exceedingly  to 
do  this,  that  I  may  be  restored  to  you  the  sooner. 

20.  Now  °the  God  of  peace,  °who  brought  again  °from 
the  dead  °the  great  shepherd  of  the  sheep  °Svith  the 
blood  of  °^  the  eternal  covenant,  even  our  Lord  Jesus, 

21.  °make  you  perfect  in  every  good  ^  thing  to  do  his  will, 
^working  in  ^  us  that  which  is  well-pleasing  in  his 
sight,  through  Jesus  Christ;  °to  whom  he  the  glory 
^for  ever  and  ever.    Amen. 


'  Or,  by  Gr.  in.  '  SV  an  s  Many  ancient  authorities  read  work.  *  Many 
ancient  authorities  read  you.      s  Gr.  unto  the  ages  of  the  ages. 

has  incurred  criticism  by  withdrawing  from  the  scene  of  danger,  as 
Cyprian,  e.g.,  afterwards  did  in  the  Decian  persecution.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  may  have  been  in  exile  or  imprisonment  for  some  time 
past.  Certainly  he  is  now  free,  for  he  declares  his  intention  of  coming 
to  them  with  Timothy,  if  he  come  soon.  Perhaps  he  as  well  as 
Timothy  has  just  been  set  at  liberty,  cf.  vs.  23. 

19.  Some  obstacles,  at  all  events,  still  keep  the  writer  from  the 
readers,  and  these  he  hopes  by  their  prayers  may  be  speedily  re- 
moved, so  that  he  may  rejoin  them. 

20.  From  his  request  for  the  readers'  prayers  for  himself,  the 
writer  turns  to  his  own  devout  wish  for  them,  somewhat  in  the  manner 
of  Paul,  I  Thes.  5:  23;  2  Thes.  3: 16.  The  God  of  peace.  As  in 
I  Thes.  5:23;  Rom.  15:33;  16:20;  Phil.  4:9,  etc.  Who  brought 
again.  Or,  who  brought  iip.  The  language  is  largely  drawn  from 
Isa.  63:  II  LXX,  From  the  dead.  While  a  reference  to  the  resur- 
rection is  unmistakable  here,  the  further  allusion  to  tlie  blood  of  an 
everlasting  covenant  suggests  one  of  the  great  themes  of  the  epistle,  the 
entrance  of  Jesus  into  the  eternal  sanctuary  with  his  blood,  there  to 
effect  the  final  atonement.  It  is  this  that  is  emphasized.  The  .  .  . 
shepherd  of  the  sheep.  A  Messianic  designation,  cf.  John  10:11, 
14;  21:16;  I  Pet.  2:25;  5:4  (the  arch-shepherd).  Not  simply 
the  shepherd  of  the  slieep,  of  Isa.  63 :  11  LXX,  but  the  great  shep- 
herd. With  the  blood  of  the  eternal  covenant.  Cf.  Zech.  9:  11. 
The  reference  is  to  Jesus'  priestly  ministry,  for  which  God  brought 
him  up  to  the  eternal  sanctuary,  his  presence.  The  eternal  cove- 
nant. Better,  An  eternal  covenant.  The  new,  better,  final  cove- 
nant of  8:6,  etc. 

21.  Make  you  perfect.  Or,  fit  you.  To  be  connected  with 
to  do  his  will.    Working  in  us.    The  thought  is  that  God  will  so 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   HEBREWS  13  :  25 

22.  But  I  exhort  you,  brethren,  bear  with  the  word  of 
exhortation :   for  I  have  written  unto  you  in  few  words. 

23.  Know  ye  that  our  brother  Timothy  hath  been  set  at 
liberty;   with  whom,  if  he  come  shortly,  I  will  see  you. 

24.  Salute  all  them  that  have  the  rule  over  you,  and  all 
the  saints.     °^  They  of  Italy  salute  you. 

25.  Grace  be  with  you  all.     Amen. 

'SVm  The  brethren//-o/«,  etc. 

fit  them  to  do  his  will,  by  working  in  us,  through  Jesus  Christ,  his 
good  pleasure.  To  whom  be  the  glory.  That  is,  to  the  God  of 
peace.      Cf .  i  Pet.  5:11. 

22.  The  writer  seems  to  anticipate  some  possible  impatience 
with  his  message  on  the  part  of  the  readers.  The  passages  of  stern 
rebuke  may  have  recurred  to  his  mind.  The  brevity  of  the  letter, 
he  seems  to  say,  must  excuse  its  abruptness  or  any  other  defect. 

23.  The  writer  is  in  a  position  to  know  more  of  the  circumstances 
of  Timothy  than  are  the  readers.  Tradition  connects  Timothy's 
later  activity  with  Ephesus,  and  it  was  in  that  region  and  at  Rome 
particularly  that  believers  were  at  this  time  persecuted.  Save  for 
these  precarious  hints,  suggesting  Asia  as  the  possible  scene  of  Tim- 
othy's imprisonment  and  release,  nothing  can  be  said  of  them.  Doubt- 
less it  was  as  a  Christian  that  he  had  suffered.  That  the  writer 
should  speak  thus  of  Timothy  to  a  Jewish  Christian  congregation 
seems  hardly  appropriate  or  probable.  The  mention  of  him  serves 
rather  to  connect  the  writer  with  the  followers  of  Paul  and  with  his 
congregations.  Timothy  is  expected  by  the  writer,  who  proposes 
to  proceed  with  him  to  the  readers,  i.e.,  to  Rome.  The  writer  thus 
seems  to  be  at  some  point  by  way  of  which  Timothy  would  naturally 
journey  to  Rome,  or  from  which  at  least  Rome  is  more  readily  accessi- 
ble than  it  is  from  the  point  at  which  Timothy  finds  himself.  That 
the  writer  is  outside  of  Italy  is  probable  from  the  following  verse. 

24.  Salutations  are  sent  to  the  leaders  and  to  the  members  of  the 
congregation.  They  of  Italy.  Lit.,  They  from  Italy,  suggesting 
that  Italian  brethren  absent  from  Italy  are  meant,  who  are  taking 
this  opportunity  to  send  salutations  to  their  brethren  at  home,  from 
whom  they  are  separated  perhaps  by  the  same  stress  of  persecution 
which  has  driven  the  writer  from  Rome. 

25.  The  same  concise  parting  salutation  occurs  in  Tit.  3:15. 
Paul's  letters  usually  exhibit  a  somewhat  longer  form,,  i  Cor,  16:  23; 
Gal.  6:18. 

123 


NOTE 

Melchizedek  in  Philo 

Philo  understands  Melchizedek  to  represent  that  right  reason 
which  guides  and  cheers  the  aspiring  mind,  giving  it,  instead  of  water, 
.wine  that  possesses  it  "with  a  divine  intoxication,  more  sober  than 
sobriety  itself."  His  priesthood  is  the  priesthood  of  reason,  which 
has  as  its  inheritance  the  true  God.  Philo  thus  completely  spiritu- 
alizes and  allegorizes  Melchizedek,  as  he  does  Abraham,  whom  he 
understands  to  represent  the  soul  emigrating  ("  Hebrew  ")  from  the 
realm  of  the  passions.  The  writer  to  the  Hebrews,  on  the  other 
hand,  while  he  does  find  significance  in  the  meaning  of  Salem,  and 
makes  use  of  the  silence  of  scripture,  treats  Melchizedek  and  Abra- 
ham in  a  much  more  historical  spirit,  not  allegorizing  them,  but 
setting  Melchizedek  forth,  altogether  in  the  manner  of  Ps.  no,  as 
a  type  of  non-Aaronic  priesthood,  underived  and  unlimited.  Here, 
as  often,  the  epistle  has  interesting  points  of  resemblance  to  Philo, 
but  exhibits,  upon  examination,  still  deeper  differences,  in  spirit, 
method,  and  detail.  Cf.  Philo,  On  the  Allegories  of  tlie  Sacred  Laws, 
chh.  25,  26;   On  Abraham,  ch.  40. 


124 


INDEX 


I.   GENERAL   INDEX 


Aaron,  55,  68. 

Aaron's  rod,  78. 

Abel,  97,  115. 

Abraham,  62,  65,  66,  98,  loi. 

Acts,  9,  13. 

Alexandria,  3,  4,  5,  7,  9. 

Alexandrian  influence,  11,  16. 

Alexandrians,  Epistie  to  the,  2. 

Altar,  Christian,  119. 

Altar  of  incense,  6,  77,  78. 

Anchor,  64. 

Angels,  32,  33,  117. 

Antoninus  Saturninus,  22. 

Apocalypse,  25,  26. 

Apollos,  7. 

Apostasy,  15,  17,  18,  44,  59. 

Aquila,  8. 

Ark  of  covenant,  78. 

Asia,  24,  123. 

Asian  rhythms,  25. 

Athanasius,  4. 

Atonement,  Day  of,  81,  119. 

Augustine,  5. 

Baptism,  91. 
Barak,  105. 

Barnabas,    3,    5,    7-13;    Acts 
9;    Epistle  of,  9,  12;   Gospel 

9- 
Bibliography,  29. 
Blass,  25. 
Bleek,  20. 

Blood,  offering  of,  78. 
Blood  of  Christ,  80,  81,  90. 
Blood  of  sprinkling,  114. 


Blood  of  the  covenant,  93. 
Bruce,  39,  57,  62,  74. 
Burton,  55. 

Cain,  97. 

Candlestick,  77. 

Chastening,  no,  in. 

Christ,  Jesus,  and  Moses,  41;  as 
brother,  39;  blood  of,  80,  81,  90; 
called  to  priesthood,  55 ;  death  of, 
15,  21,  38,  39;  divine  Sonship, 
31,  42,  66;  exalted,  32,  34,  35,  109; 
heavenly  ministry,  72 ;  interces- 
sion of,  71;  ministry  of,  84; 
obedience  of,  50;  offering  of,  84, 
85,  88,  89,  90;  suffering,  38; 
temptation,  40.  See  also  High 
priesthood. 

City,  abiding,  99. 

City  of  God,  114. 

Claudius,  20. 

Clementine  Homilies,  9. 

Clement  of  Alexandria,  3,  5,  8,  10. 

Clement  of  Rome,  3,  5,  8,  12,  14,  20, 
21. 

Clement  of  Rome  to  the  Corinthians, 
of,        14,  19,  23. 
of,    Clement,  Second,  2^. 

Corinth,  24. 

Covenant,  93;  better,  70,  74,  75. 

Covetousness,  118. 

Creation,  96. 

Cross,  109. 

Crucifixion,  place  of,  120. 

Cyprian,  3,  5,  122. 

125 


GENERAL   INDEX 


David,  6,  49,  104. 
Davidson,  39,  43. 
Dion  Cassius,  20,  22. 
Dionysius  of  Alexandria,  4. 
Domitian,  16,  21,  22,  24,  60. 

Egypt,  104. 

Enoch,  97. 

Ephesus,  23. 

Esau,  102,  113. 

Eusebius,  2,  4,  10,  22,  23,  24. 

Exodus,  45. 

Faith,  62,  96-107,  109. 
Faithfulness  of  Christ,  41. 
Firstborn,  2^,  114. 
First  principles  of  Christ,  59. 
Forgiveness  of  sin,  76,  90. 
Freer  manuscripts,  i. 

Gaius,  3. 
Gelasius,  9. 
Gentile  Christians,  14. 
Gethsemane,  56. 
Gideon,  105. 

Haggai,  115. 

Harnack,  8,  13,  16,  20. 

Heavenly  sanctuary,  90. 

Hebrew,  8. 

Hebrews,  Epistle  to,  analysis,  27; 
authorship,  5 ;  canonicity,  2 ;  gen- 
eral character,  19,  25;  Greek  of, 
7;  occasion  and  purpose,  17,  18; 
readers  of,  13,  14,  58;  theme,  31 ; 
time  of  writing,  16,  19,  20;  title, 
13;  vocabulary,  25. 

Hebrews,  Gospel  according  to  the, 
16. 

High  priest,  10,  11,  78,  84. 

High  priesthood  of  Christ,  40,  41, 
53,  54,  64,  67,  69,  71-74,  80,  91. 

Hilary,  3. 

Hippo,  Council  of,  5. 

Hippolytus,  3. 


Holy  Place,  10,  78,  79. 
Hort,  4. 
Hosea,  86. 
House  of  God,  42. 

Incarnation,  meaning  of,  40. 
Incense  altar,  6,  77,  78. 
Inheritance,  82. 
Intercession  of  Christ,  71. 
Irenaeus,  3,  13. 
Isaac,  99,  loi,  102. 
Isaiah,  107. 
Isidore  of  Seville,  4. 
Italy,  7,  15,  16,  23,  24,  123. 

Jacob,  99,  102. 

Jamnia,  15. 

Jephthah,  105, 

Jeremiah,  75,  106. 

Jericho,  105. 

Jerome,  4,  5. 

Jerusalem,  10,  11,  20,  21;  heavenly, 

114. 
Jesus.     See  Christ. 
Jewish  war,  20. 
Jews,  14. 

John,  Gospel  of,  26. 
Joseph,  102. 

Joseph  called  Barnabas,  9. 
Josephus,  ID,  83. 
Joshua,  49. 
Judah,  68. 

Judaism,  6,  7,  15,  19,  24,  71. 
Judaistic  Christianity,  119. 
Judgment,  85. 

Lactantius,  22. 

Levi,  II,  66,  67. 

Levite,  10. 

Levitical,  9,  11,  67-69,  86-89. 

Luke,  7,  8. 

Luther,  7. 

Maccabaean  martyrs,  25,  106,  107. 
Maccabaeans,  25. 
Manna,  78. 


126 


GENERAL   INDEX 


Manuscripts,  i,  4. 

Marcion,  i,  2. 

Mark,  8,  9,  11. 

Marriage,  117. 

Matthew,  26. 

McGiffert,  12,  13. 

Meats,  118,  119. 

Mediator,  74,  75,  81,  114. 

Melchizedek,  6,  56,  64,  65,  124. 

Melchizedek  priesthood,  68,  69. 

Melchizedek  priesthood  of  Christ, 

56,  57- 
Melito,  21. 
Messianic  age,  31. 
Messianic  Day,  92. 
Messianic  interpretation  of  the  Old 

Testament,  39. 
Messianic  priest,  68-71. 
Methodius  of  Tyre,  4. 
Micaiah,  106. 
Moses,  6,  41,  42,  103,  113. 
Most  Holy  Place,  10,  64. 
Mount  Zion,  21,  114. 
Muratorian,  2,  3. 

Nero,  60. 

Neronian  persecution,  19-22,  94. 

New  covenant,  82,  114. 

Nicephorus,  22,  23. 

Noah,  98. 

Novatian,  5,  8,  10,  12. 

Oath,  63. 
Obedience,  121. 
Old  Latin,  3. 
Origen,  4. 
Oxyrhynchus,  i. 

Palestine,  14;  congregations  of,  16. 

Pantaenus,  4,  5,  8,  13. 

Parable,  60,  79. 

Passover,  104. 

Patmos,  24. 

Paul,  2-9,  11-13,  22,  23,  25,  26. 

Peace,  112. 

PeUa,  15. 


Penalty,  59,  60,  92,  93. 

Persecution,  14,  16,  18,  20. 

Peter,  12. 

Peter,  First  Epistle  of,  26. 

Peter  Martyr,  4. 

Philippi,  24. 

Philo,  6,  ID,  51,  65,  124. 

Photius,  3. 

Practical  purpose,  18. 

Prisca,  8,  13. 

Prisoners,  118, 

Promises,  62,  100,  107. 

Quotations,  25. 

Rahab,  105. 

Redemption,  80. 

Rendall,  73. 

Repentance,  112. 

Rest  of  God,  17,  47-49,  5o. 

Resurrection,  106. 

Roman  Church,  16,  17,  22,  61. 

Romans,  Epistle  to  the,  13. 

Rome,  3-5,  7,  9,  16,  23,  24,  123. 

Sacrifice  ineffectual,  85,  88. 

Salutation,  123. 

Salvation  as  deliverance  from  death, 

39;  as  the  rest  of  God,  47,  48 ;  as 

world  dominion,  37. 
Samson,  105. 
Samuel,  105. 
Sanctuary,  Christian,  77. 
Sarah,  99. 
Sardinia,  23. 

Septuagint,  6,  8, 13, 14, 16,  25-27, 87. 
Septuagint  canon,  25. 
Sixty  Canonical  Books,  9. 
Son  the  medium  of  creation,  31. 
Sonship,  true,  no,  iii. 
Sprinkling  of  blood,  83. 
Suetonius,  20. 
Synoptics,  25,  26. 


Tabernacle,   10,   77,   83, 
true,  73. 
127 


the 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Tacitus,  20. 

Temple,  10. 

Tertiillian,  3,  5,  9,  10,  12,  21. 

Testament,  82. 

Text,  I. 

Thayer,  32. 

Theme  of  Hebrews,  31. 

Theognostus,  4. 

Theophany,  113. 

Timothy,  7,  11,  12,  15,  16,  21-23, 

122,  123. 
Titus,  21. 


Veil,  64,  91. 
Von  Soden,  16. 

Warning,  36,  43.  44,  47.  48,  50,  62, 

92,  IIS- 
Westcott,  34,  48. 
Wisdom,  Book  of,  32. 
Word  of  God,  51. 

Zahn,  16. 
Zechariah,  106. 
Zion,  21,  114. 


2.   INDEX  TO   REFERENCES 


Genesis  i 

1-3 

I 

96 

Exodus  12  :  21-28 

104 

I 

II. 

12 

60 

14  :  15,  16 

105 

2 

2 

48,  50 

14:  28 

105 

3 

17, 

18 

61 

16:  33,   34 

78 

4 

4 

97 

17  :  1-7 

43 

4 

10 

97 

19  :  12,  13 

113 

5 

24 

97 

19  :  16,  19 

113 

6 

13- 

22 

98 

19  :  18 

"5 

12 

I 

98 

24  :  3-8 

83 

14 

17- 

20 

65 

24  :  8 

83,  93 

14 

19, 

20 

66 

25,  26 

77 

i6 

16 

lOI 

25-27 

73 

i8, 

19 

117 

25  :  9.  40 

73 

i8: 

9-1 

5 

99 

25  :  16 

78 

21 

5 

63 

25  :  18-22 

78 

21 

12 

loi,  102 

25  :  23-30 

77 

22 

I,  2 

lOI 

25  :  31-40 

77 

22 

16, 

17 

62 

25  :4o 

74 

22 

17 

100 

28:  I 

55 

23 

4 

99 

29:4 

91 

25 

2 

lOI 

29  :  21 

91 

25 

7 

63 

30  :  I,  3.  6 

10 

25 

33 

113 

30  :  6 

78 

26 

63 

30  :  20 

91 

27 

38 

112 

30:36 

II 

32 

12 

100 

33:  II 

104 

47 

9 

100 

37 

77 

47 

31 

102 

37  :  10-16 

77 

48 

102 

37  :  17-24 

77 

50 

24, 

25 

103 

39,  40 

77 

50 

25 

102 

40  :  26 

78 

Exodus  I 

.  16, 

22 

103 

Leviticus 

7  :  12 

120 

2 

:  2 

103 

8  :  30 

90 

2 

:  II 

103 

16  :  2,  12 

64 

2 

:  14, 

15 

104 

16  :  II,  15 

80 

3 

:  2 

104 

16  :  11-14 

55 

3 

:6 

lOI 

16  :  27 

119 

3 

:  10 

41 

Numbers 

12:  7 

41,  42,  91 

129 


INDEX  TO   REFERENCES 


Numbers 

12 

:8 

104 

Psalms 

45  :  6,  7 

34 

14 

:  21-23,  28- 

-35 

44 

50  ••  14 

120 

14 

:29 

46 

76:2 

65 

16 

:38 

119 

89:27 

33 

17 

:  10,  II 

78 

89  :  50,  51 

103, 

104 

18 

:  I 

55 

95  :  7,  8 

45 

,  49 

Deuteronomy  20  :  1-13 

43 

95  :  7-II 

43 

4  :  II,  12 

113 

95  :  II 

47 

,48 

4:  24 

1x6 

97:  7 

33 

5  :  22,  23, 

2S 

113 

102  :  25-27 

35 

9:  19 

113 

104:4 

34 

12:9 

44,  47 

no 

124 

17:2,  6 

93 

no:  I    32,3c 

,88,89 

,119 

29  :  18 

112 

no  :  4    56, 

57,  64 

65, 

31  :  6,  8 

118 

66,  68, 

69,  7c 

,  73 

32:3s 

20, 

25,  93 

116:  15 

97 

32:43 

33 

118:6 

118 

33:8 

43 

135  :i4 

93 

Joshua 

1:5 
6  :  1-20 

118 
105 

Proverbs 

3:  II,  12 
4:26 

no 
in 

6:17,  23, 

25 

105 

Isaiah 

8  :  17,  18 

39 

Judges 

4,  5 

5  ••  4,  5 

6-8 
11-16 
14:6 

105 
"5 
105 
105 
106 

26  :  II 
26  :  20 

35:3 
41  :  8,  9 

45  :  17 

25, 

92 

94 

III 

40 
56 

I  Samuel 

12 

17:34 

105 
106 

53:  12 
55:3 

85 
122 

2  Samuel 

7  :  12-16 
7:  14 

105 
33 

57  ••  19 
63:11 

120 
122 

I  Kings 

8:9 
17:23 
19  :  I,  2 
19  :  2,  3 
19  :  10 
19:  19 

78 
106 
106 
107 
107 
107 

Jeremiah 

20  :  2 
26  ;  23 
31  :  31-34 
31  :  33,  34 
37:  IS,  16 
38:6 

106 
107 
75 
89 
106 
106 

22  :  27 

106 

Daniel 

3:  27 

106 

2  Kings 

2:13 
4  :  36,  37 

107 
106 

6 : 16-23 

7:18 

106 
116 

6:  13,  31 

107 

Hosea 

6:6 

86 

2  Chronicles 

24  :  20,  21 

107 

14:3 

121 

Psalms 

2:7 

33, 

55,  72 

Habakkuk 

2:3,  4 

94 

8:4-6 

37 

Haggai 

2:6 

115 

22  :  22 

39,  40 

Zechariah 

6:11 

91 

34:14 

112 

9:11 

122 

40  :  6-8 

86 
I, 

?o 

13:4 

107 

INDEX  TO   REFERENCES 


1  Maccabees     2 

9 

2  Maccabees     6 

6 

7 

7 

Wisdom  7 

10 

12 

Ecclesiasticus  23 


Matthew 


Mark 


Luke 


John 


Acts 


Romans 


:  2»,  31 
:  33,  42 
:  19,  28 
:  22,  30 
:  I,  7,  10 

:  9.  14 
:  26 
:  4 
:  10 
:  2,  3 
:  8 

:  25-34 
:  13 
:  7 
:  35 
:64 
:  15 
:  14 
:  28-30 
:  18 

:  47.  48 
:36 
:  34 
:  II 

:Si 
:  7 
•9 
:  23 
:  II,  14 

:  17 
:  16 
:  14-21 
••38 
:  31 
••53 

:  12,  17 
:46 

:  39 
:  2 

:i5 

:  3 

=  9 

:  17 

:  29 

:  18 

:  19    2 


107 
107 
106 
106 
106 
106 
32 
98 
112 

79 
112 
118 
86 
86 
97 
32 
59 
41 
93 
58 
68 
56 

39 

10 

107 

97 
60 

65 

122 

120 

122 

31 

59 

118 

36 

59 

118 

13 
20 
61 
68 
98 
82 

33 
112 

25.  93 


Romans 

13 

:  II 

62 

13 

12 

92 

15 

3 

104 

15 

33 

122 

16 

20 

122 

I  Corinthians 

3 

.  2 

58 

9 

24 

108 

II 

2,  23 

36 

12- 

14 

37 

15 

27 

38 

16 

23 

123 

Galatians 

2 

13 

13 

3 

6 

98 

3 

19 

6,  32,  36 

3 

29 

40 

4 

26 

114 

6 

18 

123 

Ephesians 

I 

18 

60 

Philippians 

3 

20 

114 

4 

9 

122 

Colossians 

I 

15 

33 

I  Thessalonians  2 

18 

6 

5 

4 

92 

5 

23 

122 

2  Thessalonians 

3 

16 

122 

3 

17 

6 

I  Timothy 

I 

3 

23 

Titus 

3 

15 

123 

James 

3 

17,18 

III 

I  Peter 

2 

25 

122 

5 

4 

122 

5 

II 

123 

I  John 

3 

12 

97 

Revelation 

6 

9,  10 

97 

7 

7 

II 

15 

3 

26 

21 

2 

114,  120 

Ascension  of  Isaiah  5  107 

Clement  of  Alexandria, 

Hy polyposes  7  10 

Stromateis  2  :  20  10 

Clement  of  Rome  I,  5,  6  20 

Clement  of  Rome  II,  i  33 


131 


INDEX   TO    REFERENCES 


Dion  Cassius, 

Hist. 

60 

6 

20 

Justin  Martyr,  Apology  I,  61         60 

67 

14 

22 

Dialogue  120                              107 

Eusebius,  Historia  Ecclesiastica 

Nicephorus,  Historia  Ecclesiastica 

3  :  II                                        22,  23 

1:12:1 

10 

2:1:4 

10 

Origen,  To  Africanus  9                107 

2  :  25  :  8 

20 

3:    4:6 

23 

Philo,  On  Abraham  40                  124 

3:18:  I 

24 

On  Allegories  of  Sacred  Laws 

5:26 

2 

25                                               65 

6:14 

3 

25,  26                                      124 

6:25 

4 

On  A  nitnals  fit  for  Sacrifice  2     10 
Suetonius,  Claudius  25                  20 

Josephus,  Antiquities  2 

9 

103 

3:6:8 

10 

Tacitus,  Annals  15  :  44                  20 

3:8:6 

83 

Tertullian,  De  Patientia  14         107 

IS  :  2,  3 

55 

De  Pudicitia  20                             5 

ao :  8,  9 

55 

Scorpiace  8                                107 

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